


SHSL Spring Break Trip!

by EternalSailorNeptune_53



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Gen, Multi, Other, Pre-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Spring Break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:38:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 44,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalSailorNeptune_53/pseuds/EternalSailorNeptune_53
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Spring Break approaches, the 78th Class decide to take a little week-long vacation to none other than Paris, France. Surely, this will be a normal, peaceful trip to Europe, right? ...Nope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Paris?!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Dangan Ronpa; it belongs to its rightful owners and creators.

As the end of March drew near, so was the beginning of Spring Break for the students at Hope’s Peak Academy. On the Thursday before the long-awaited week began, the 78th class were altogether in their homeroom, a majority of them discussing what to do over Spring Break.

"How about we all go to beach?" Asahina suggested.

"Doesn’t it seem a little cold for that, Asahina?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Yeah. Besides, you always suggest the beach," Leon added.

“‘Cause the beach is fun…” Asahina pouted.

"Wh-Why don’t we have some kind of picnic together?" Chihiro said in his usual timid tone of voice, "After all, we’d be getting out and spending time together as a class."

"I agree with Fujisaki-kun!" Ishimaru exclaimed boldly, "Picnics are peaceful, and could be just what the doctor ordered!"

"Booooriiing…" Leon groused, "Who’d wanna go on a stupid picnic?"

"Oh… umm, s-sorry, Kuwata-kun…" Chihiro sighed, defeated, "It was a stupid idea to being with."

"Kid, don’t let Leon get to ya," Mondo assured the small Hacker, "After all, I don’t see  _him_  comin’ up with anythin’.”

"Hey, I’m thinking!" Leon objected.

"Then tell us your idea, Kuwata-kun," Kirigiri insisted calmly.

Opening his mouth, the defeated SHSL Baseball Player pouted as he rested his head on the palm of his hand. Eventually, most of the class wound up turning into a frenzy of disagreement and disorder, though students such as Kirigiri, Mukuro, and Fukawa didn’t appear to care much about it. Amidst the commotion, Togami merely stood up and went over to the chalkboard in a rather nonchalant fashion.

"Togami-kun?" Naegi asked, "What are you—"

"Quiet, urchin!" Fukawa snapped, "Byakuya-sama’s writing something!"

At Fukawa’s statement, the other 13 students turned their heads to the SHSL Heir at the chalkboard, which, after he had put down a piece of white chalk, now read “Paris, France”.

"…Paris?" Naegi wondered, "Why Paris?"

"Because we now have somewhere to go for a week, Naegi," Togami answered, "Hence why I wrote it on the board."

"Wow, France!" Sayaka beamed, "I’ve always wanted to go there! That is… for a vacation and not a performance."

"P-Paris is known as the ‘City Of Love’~!" Fukawa sighed dreamily, "That means I’ll finally get a chance at romance with Byakuya-sama!"

"Keep dreamin’, Fukawa-chi…" Hagakure muttered, earning a nasty glare from the Literary Girl.

"So, I assume we’ve all agreed on Paris?" Togami asked.

"Oh, hear hear," Celes agreed, "After all, part of my ancestry does originate from France."

"I’d love to learn more about Parisian history and culture!" Ishimaru exclaimed happily, "But… I don’t think I could afford a plane ticket."

"Brows is right," Junko agreed, "How’re we gonna get there if everyone’s nearly broke?"

"Well, I’m certainly not going to some filthy commoner’s airport," Togami stated rather arrogantly, "So… I’ll let you guys ride in my family’s private jet. But for this trip  _only_.”

The rest of the 78th class rejoiced in excitement at their future Spring Break trip. A few of them even began talking about what they planned on doing during the week-long trip that lied ahead of them.

"Since it takes about 12½ hours to fly from Osaka to Paris, we’ll need to leave early if we want to get there at a decent time," Togami explained, "Which means… be  _completely_  ready to leave at 6 o’clock in the morning on Saturday.”

"Ishimaru-kun, can you make sure everybody’s prepared by then?" Kirigiri asked the Hall Monitor.

"You can count on me, Kirigiri-kun!" Ishimaru assured, giving a salute, "I won’t let you or Togami-kun down!"

"Oh, this oughta be fun…" Leon muttered sarcastically.

"In the meantime, I’ll make all the necessary flight preparations, but only after Kirigiri and I get the necessary approval from the Headmaster," Togami added, leaving the room.

"Fine by me," Kirigiri agreed, following Togami.

Once the Detective and the Heir had left the room, everyone began chattering amongst themselves about their excitement for the trip to France’s capital before they all began leaving the classroom.

"Remember, everyone!" Ishimaru told the leaving students, "I will be coming by your rooms Friday night to make sure you’re all packed and ready for Saturday!"

Ishimaru then looked at Mukuro, who had her usual stoic expression set on her face in contrast to Junko’s stoked expression.

"Are you alright, Ikusaba-kun?" Ishimaru asked her, "You don’t seem as excited about this trip as the others do."

"I’m fine, Sir!" She told him, giving her usual military salute, "I’m… just not one to get overly-worked up over unnecessary things is all."

"Ah, lighten up, Big Sis!" Junko laughed, throwing an arm around her sister, "It’s  _Paris_ , the City Of Lights! I’ve already been there before, but that’s no reason to not go! Besides, you get to spend some time with your favorite sister~!”

"You’re my  _only_  sister, Junko-chan…” Mukuro responded with a pinch of humor in her tone, “A complete nutjob, but still my sister.”

"Th-That reminds me, Ikusaba-kun!" Ishimaru piped up as a blush began filling his cheeks, "Perhaps on the trip… we too could also spend time together? It doesn’t have to be anything serious, but—"

"Wow, if this is your way of askin’ Mu-chan on a date, then it’s really lame…" Junko remarked snidely.

"A date?!" Ishimaru squeaked, his blush deepening, "No no, it’s not a date, Enoshima-kun! I’m merely asking Ikusaba-kun—"

"I’ll think about it," Mukuro answered with a light smile as she and Junko left the room, leaving a flustered Ishimaru behind.

* * *

 When the awaited Friday night came, Ishimaru was finishing up on his own packing, checking items off of his “Paris Checklist” as he did so. As expected of the SHSL Hall Monitor, his suitcase was neatly organized with all of his pristine white uniforms (in addition to a few other outfits after much insisting from Oowada and Fujisaki), undergarments, a pair of pajamas, toiletries, and even a few books for him to look at (for Ishimaru believed that Spring Break was no excuse to not study).

"And now, I must go check and see if the others are ready for tomorrow morning!" Ishimaru thought to himself as he left his room and shut the door behind him.

Since Sakura was voluntarily helping Ishimaru with “Trip Inspection” due to the Prefect’s uneasiness with entering a girl’s bedroom, it made things a lot easier. When the two passed each other in the Dormitory Wing, they both gave each other formal salutes and carried on their way. Ishimaru’s first stop was Mondo’s room due to it being closest to his own, and entered once his best friend answered the doorbell rings.

However, upon seeing the Gang Leader’s rather disorganized black duffle bag, Ishimaru immediately began sorting it out.

"Kyoudai, you  _really_  need to work on your packing skills,” Ishimaru remarked as he continued organizing Mondo’s luggage.

"Geez, sorry for not bein’ you," Mondo scoffed, rolling his lilac eyes. "Still, it’s almost hard to believe that prick Togami’s actually takin’ all of us to France like this!"

"You’ve got that wrong, Kyoudai! We’re not going to France, we’re going to Paris! You need to start listening more!"

"Taka… Paris is  _in_  France. I’m no SHSL Geography Expert, but even I know that.”

Speechless, an embarrassed Ishimaru took his Paris Checklist out and added the words “Geography Book” to the list. He then continued to do one last check on Mondo’s luggage to see if everything was in order.

"Hey, since we’re goin’ to the ‘City Of Love’," Mondo teased, "Maybe you’ll finally be able to take your girlfriend Ikusaba on a date~?"

"Yes Mondo, that would be rather appropriate and quite romantic considering one of Paris’ many nicknames and—  _IKUSABA-KUN’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND_!” Ishimaru squeaked as a deep blush came back to his face.

"Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it ain’t painfully obvious you’ve got a fuckin’ crush on her. Dude, why don’t you just ask her out already? I mean, you’re not me; you don’t get so nervous to the point where you yell at girls and they run away."

"T-True, but… I don’t think Ikusaba-kun would be interested in someone like me. Besides, dating is nothing but a distraction! I’m the Super High School Level Hall Monitor, and I refuse to let something like that tarnish my morals!"

"Kyoudai, havin’ a girlfriend or hell, even a boyfriend, ain’t gonna tarnish your morals—"

"This conversation is over! Forget it happened!" Ishimaru shouted, standing up, "Forget, Forget, Forget Beam!"

After wishing his best friend a good night, Ishimaru quickly left the room in a flustered manner. Then, he set off to continue his duties as he approached Leon’s room, whose door wasn’t closed completely. Upon closer inspection, the Hall Monitor could see that his fellow classmate was on his cell phone.

"You heard me right, Souda!" Leon spoke into his phone, "I’m goin’ to France tomorrow! And, I’ve already learned to ‘parler fran-says’. In case you don’t know what that means, I’ve learned to speak French."

"Ha, mes condoléances à la française qui vont entendez à  _ce que_ ,” he heard the aforementioned Mechanic chuckle from the other line.

"Oh bravo, you can speak French already. Ya only learned it to impress Sonia… which by the way, she didn’t care about!"

"Augh, whatever, Leon! French actually ain’t that bad a language—"

The conversation was cut short by Ishimaru entering the room and taking Leon’s phone from him, all while ignoring the Baseball Player’s protests.

"Souda-kun, I advise you wrap up this conversation," Ishimaru said into the phone, "Kuwata-kun needs to get to bed!"

"Alright, I’ll make it short," Souda agreed on the other line as Ishimaru held the phone to Leon’s ear, "Au revoir, Leon! Pour s’amuser en Paris!"

"Yeah yeah, bye, Kazu…" Leon groaned, "No one likes a showoff!"

Once Ishimaru hung the phone up, he went over to inspect Leon’s suitcase to make sure he had the necessary “luggage requirements”. Although his suitcase wasn’t as messy as Mondo’s suitcase, there were still a few things that needed to be organized a bit properly. As the Hall Monitor was about to make his leave, Leon noticed he still had his cell phone with him.

"Oi, my phone!" Leon cried, trying to retrieve it, "Give it back, Ishi!"

"I’m confiscating your phone until we get on the plane tomorrow," Ishimaru told him before leaving, "You’ll get it back then, Kuwata-kun. Now, get a good night’s sleep! You wouldn’t want to be tired tomorrow!"

By the time Ishimaru and Sakura had finished their respective “Trip Inspection” duties, it was 9 pm. Although Night Time was typically an hour later, Kirigiri and Togami told everyone to sleep early so they could leave at the expected time. By 9:20, all sixteen students were fast asleep in their dorms, awaiting the trip that would begin the next day.


	2. Goodbye Japan, Hello France!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here's chapter 2 for ya! Since I posted the first three chapters on Tumblr, the next chapter's gonna be the last "Spontaneous Update" as I like to call it. After that, the chapters will now be in progress! Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

Togami and Kirigiri were the first two to arrive at the hangar where the Togami Conglomerate’s private jet was. As their luggage was being loaded into the Heavy Jet, they both looked out for their classmates to arrive.

"What time is it?" Kirigiri yawned.

"…5:30," Togami answered, looking at his watch.

"At least we’re making good time," The SHSL Detective stated.

It was a total of 10 minutes that had passed before the first couple people had arrived. Looking up, they noticed Naegi, Ishimaru, Asahina, and Sakura arriving with their respective bags and suitcases. The aforementioned four then placed their baggage down onto the conveyor and watched it be loaded into the plane.

"Good morning, you two!" Ishimaru exclaimed triumphantly.

"Well, someone seems ready to go," Kirigiri remarked with a small smile.

"I just wish he’d keep his mouth shut…" Togami uttered rudely.

"Are you ready for the trip, Asahina?" Sakura asked.

"You’d bet!" Asahina chirped, "What about you, Naegi?"

"Hmm…? Oh, yeah! I’m ready, Asahina-san," Naegi yawned.

"Naegi, my boy, what’s wrong?" Sakura questioned, "Did you go to bed at a decent time?"

"Yeah, I did…" Naegi answered, "I’m just still a little tired is all."

"Want a little snack?" Asahina asked, opening her small box of donuts.

"Maybe later, Asahina-san," he told her. "I might have one when we get on the plane."

At that moment, in came Mondo and Chihiro while dragging a sleepy Leon along with their luggage. Mondo then shook Leon a bit until the redheaded Baseball Player took one last snore before waking up.

"Geez, I’m awake…" Leon groaned, groggily dragging his luggage to the conveyor.

"Sleep when ya get on the plane," Mondo told him, dragging his and Chihiro’s luggage to the conveyor.

"Wait, Oowada-kun," Chihiro told him, "Let me carry my own luggage!"

"Ya sure, Chi?"

"Mmm-hmm! I can do it myself!"

Once Mondo gave Chihiro his luggage back, the SHSL Hacker struggled to lift the heavy suitcase. While it was also a bit difficult due to him wearing a backpack containing his computer and programming gear, Chihiro refused to give up, and was happy to see that he had finally lifted the suitcase off the ground.

"Sometime before the next school year begins would be nice, Fujisaki," Togami scoffed as Chihiro took slower steps while trying to lift the suitcase.

"Cut the shit, Rich Boy," Mondo growled, "Just ‘cause it’s Spring Break doesn’t mean I won’t kick your pretentious ass!"

"I’d like to see you try. But if you do, you’ll be the only one who  _didn’t_  go on this trip. Your choice, meathead.”

Glaring at Togami angrily, Mondo scoffed and turned his head away from the Heir. But, he seemed to calm down when Chihiro managed to get his suitcase onto the luggage conveyor.

"See, Oowada-kun?" Chihiro said proudly, "I’m strong enough to lift my own luggage like you!"

"Sure are, Kid," Mondo replied with a cool smile.

The next people to come into the jet hangar were Celes, Junko, Mukuro, and Yamada (whom was carrying extra luggage). Junko had her hair tied up in a ponytail and wore sunglasses, while Mukuro was merely carrying her own footlocker and tote bag.

"Yamada, why did you pack extra bags?" Asahina asked, munching on a glazed donut, "Isn’t that a bit much?"

"Don’t be silly, Asahina Aoi-dono!" Yamada answered confidently, "Only  _some_  of these bags are mine! The rest belong to Celestia-dono!”

"And what a fine job you did carrying them, Yamada-kun," Celes said to him, sipping a small cup of morning tea.

"Can’t carry your own luggage, Celes-san?" Kirigiri asked in a snarky tone.

"Excuse you, but I can," Celes retorted, "I just choose not to do such a thing at such early hours of the day."

Once Mukuro put her luggage onto the conveyor after Junko did, Mondo ushered Ishimaru towards her, much to the Hall Monitor’s protests. When the two were at a close enough distance, Mukuro merely stared at Ishimaru with a deadpan, yet light expression.

"Is there something wrong, Sir?" she asked him.

"N-No… I…" Ishimaru stuttered with rather rosy cheeks, "I just wanted to wish you and Enoshima-kun a good morning is all, Ikusaba-kun!"

"Oh, well… good morning, Sir!" Mukuro responded, giving Ishimaru her usual salute.

"Please… feel free to call me ‘Ishimaru-kun’. While I do very much appreciate the respectful title, I’m your classmate, not your superior officer."

"Umm, right! My apologies, Si— erm, Ishimaru-kun. I… hope you have fun on the trip."

"Th-Thank you, you as well."

Returning to Mondo and Chihiro’s side, Ishimaru let out a sigh of relief as he tried to make the blush in his cheeks fade and his racing heart calm down. He let out a slightly exasperated chuckle as Mondo gave him a pat on the back that meant “It’s a start”. As the time turned to 5:55 am, the last three students (Hagakure, Sayaka, and Fukawa) finally arrived at the hangar with their luggage.

"Mornin’, Maizono-chan!" A suddenly wide-awake Leon greeted the Idol.

"Good morning, Kuwata-kun," she responded kindly, "Good morning to you too, Naegi-kun."

"Are you excited for the trip?" Naegi asked with a slight blush.

"Yep! I can’t wait to go to France!" Sayaka beamed.

"Me neither…!" Fukawa agreed, giving Togami a dreamy look, "When we get there, my White Knight will at last sweep me off my feet, thus beginning our long-awaited crusade of romance!"

"I’m not your White Knight, nor will I even  _think_  about doing such a thing…” Togami hissed, rolling his slightly tired blue eyes, “Get off your high horse already, Fukawa.”

"Hee, Byakuya-sama’s just shy…" Fukawa assured no one in particular.

"So, I assume everyone’s here?" Togami asked, ignoring Fukawa’s statement.

Looking around, the rest of the 78th class affirmed Togami’s question. As the rest of the luggage was loaded into the Heavy Jet, all sixteen students walked up the steps and into the aircraft. Everyone but Togami was rather amazed at the fancy sight of the jet’s interior. In addition to the wide amount of space, there was also a plush sofa on one side, and even a small food and beverage bar close to it.

"Check it out…" Leon said in awe.

"Why’re we going to Paris, then?" Hagakure wondered, "This jet’s pretty sweet on it’s own, Togami-chi!"

"Oh, puh-lease…" Togami scoffed, "You’re acting as if you’ve never rode in an aircraft before."

"Well, not one like this!" Naegi exclaimed, still amazed.

"This plane even has a personal bathroom?!" Ishimaru gasped in awe, "It even comes with a shower!"

"Not only that, it’s also got a full kitchen!" Asahina added.

"This is quite impressive, Togami-kun," Mukuro stated, taking a seat somewhere.

"Impressive as it may be, this and the trip home are the only times I’m letting you in here," Togami added.

Once everyone was seated somewhere, the pilot started up the jet until it was driven out of the hangar and into the runway, where it eventually lifted off into the air. About an hour into the flight, everyone was doing their own thing, such as Naegi and Kirigiri watching a personal favorite movie of the latter’s on the jet’s television.

"Wait a minute!" Naegi exclaimed, "There’s no way Umeyo would be able to know the miniature Thinker statue was a clock!"

"And why is that?" Kirigiri asked him in a tone not unlike that of a teacher to a student.

"Because the clock mechanism… was taken out beforehand!"

"Exactly. Which means, she has no exact proof that Mayoi’s her sister’s murderer."

"…This movie’s intense."

"Isn’t it, though?" Kirigiri asked, deeply involved in the movie, "Now come on! Let’s dig further into the case, Naegi-kun."

Meanwhile in another section of the jet, Chihiro was already doing work on his laptop as he sat close to Ishimaru and Mondo. Since it was going to be a very long jet ride to Europe, he figured he might as well start programming while on the plane. However, since he had a habit of going at it for hours on end, he promised both of them he’d take a few breaks every now and then while the plane was still in flight.

"Kyoudai, how long have we been flyin’?" A bored Mondo asked.

"Hmm… almost an hour and a half," Ishimaru told him, looking at his watch.

"According to my computer’s GPS," Chihiro added, saving his work to look at a different feature, "We’re currently flying above Jeju-Si."

"Where?"

"Umm… South Korea."

"Well, Kid, ‘Jeju-Si’ anything else?" Mondo snickered.

"Hee-hee, not really," Chihiro giggled, amused by Mondo’s pun. He then took a glance out of the window, "But, the view’s actually pretty amazing!"

"What else ‘Jeju-Si’ out there, Fujisaki-kun?" Ishimaru chuckled. "Haha, I made a funny…!"

* * *

A couple more hours into the trip, the jet was now beginning to fly past Xi’an, China. Although it had seemed like they were flying forever, it was only 12:30 in the afternoon. Despite this, a few of the students had fallen asleep, among them Ishimaru. Since Leon had fallen asleep the minute the plane had taken flight, he was wide awake and well-rested.

"Pssst, Hiro!" he whispered to the Fortune Teller, "I’ve got an idea. Got a can of shaving cream?"

"Well, yeah," Hagakure responded, holding up his shaving cream, "What’re we gonna do with it?"

"Lemme put it this way," Leon snickered, holding up a fake feather, "Feather, plus shaving cream, plus sleeping Ishimaru equals…?"

"Ah, gotcha! Let’s do it, Kuwata-chi!"

The duo snuck over to the sleeping Hall Monitor, who’s unconsciously open palm was slowly being filled with a fluffy white glob of Hagakure’s shaving cream. Once Hagakure had done his part, Leon began tickling Ishimaru’s nose with the feather and stepped back once sleeping guy had reached for his face with the shaving cream-covered hand.

"GUAH, KUNIAKI KOISO!" Ishimaru yelped, bolting wide awake. He then noticed the shaving cream on his face before shooting the snickering Leon and Hagakure a glare. "Kuwata-kun! Hagakure-kun!"

"Ha, gotcha, Ishi!" Leon cackled, giving Hagakure a high-five.

"Grr…!" Ishimaru growled, irritated, "…Very well then, that little prank of yours only means you won’t be getting your phone back until we reach the hotel! Also, you both will be spending the first week of the new school year in detention!"

"Ahh, what?! Gimme back my phone!"

"Nope. Shouldn’t have pulled that prank."

Grumbling, Leon walked off with Hagakure to a different area of the jet, leaving Ishimaru to go into the bathroom to wash the shaving cream off of his face. When that was done, he returned to his seat and decided to read his book on Parisian history so he could get a head-start. While that was happening, Yamada was busy fetching Celes a cup of exotic milk tea and its necessary requirements from the kitchen. When she took a sip, the Doujin Author cringed as he waited for her to reject it and shout at him to remake it as usual. Much to his surprise, she kept sipping the tea.

"Impressive…" she told him, "You actually got it right the first time. …Good job."

"Ah… ah! B-But of course, Celestia-dono!" Yamada responded, "My lady only deserves the best!"

"I can’t argue with that. Now begone."

* * *

 Over the remaining six hours of the flight, the jet had passed over several European countries before it finally made its landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Upon waking up with a sleeping Kirigiri leaning her head on his shoulder, Naegi was among those who first noticed and was quite excited.

"Hey guys, we’re here!" Naegi exclaimed, waking up Kirigiri.

"Ahh, fuckin’ finally! Right, Kyoudai?" Mondo asked Ishimaru.

"You can say that again, Kyoudai," Ishimaru agreed, "But, I’d actually rather you not since you need to watch your mouth."

Once the jet came to a complete stop, everyone began scrambling to leave the plane excitedly until they were stopped by Togami. When they had all left the jet and their luggage was being unloaded, the 78th Class all searched for and grabbed their respective bags and headed into the terminal as a group.


	3. Hotel Le Sénat

"Wow, the Charles de Gaulle Airport!" Sayaka beamed, looking around the large vicinity.

"I-It’s huge…" Fukawa remarked, "B-But, don’t think I don’t know what some of you are thinking!"

"Eh? Whaddya talkin’ about, Fukawa?" Leon asked.

"I-It’s so obvious! The minute I get lost, you freaks are purposely planning on l-leaving me here! And of course, no one’s gonna remember gloomy old Touko Fukawa…"

"Weirdo…" Mondo remarked under his breath.

"Fukawa-san, we’d never do that!" Chihiro insisted, worried.

"Right. Just try to have a little faith in us," Sayaka added, "If you’re worried about getting lost, then just stay by me."

"Hmph, I’m no fool…" Fukawa sneered, choosing to keep an eye on the group.

As the students reached the bus terminal, they discovered that they were being awaited by a man holding up a sign that read “Togami Byakuya”. While they all went down to the exit, Naegi turned to Togami in amazement.

"Togami-kun, how did you even manage all of this?" he asked the Heir, "Did you plan this trip in advance?"

"Je m’appelle Byakuya Togami," Togami answered calmly.

"That… didn’t answer my question."

Placing all of their luggage into the proper compartment of the bus, the 78th Class all boarded and took their seats. As the luggage compartment was closed and locked shut, the bus took off in the direction of the selected hotel. On the bus, Leon was trying to listen to a few “French Lessons” he had downloaded onto his iPod, while people like Junko and Asahina were busy admiring the passing sights of Paris.

"Ah, Paris!" Junko sighed, "Good times, good times…" She then threw an arm around Mukuro, "We’re gonna have so much fun here, right, Mukuro-chan?"

"Y-Yes, dear sister," Mukuro responded, "We are."

While Asahina was impressed with the sights of the city, her attention was completely nabbed when the bus had passed La Seine. The SHSL Swimmer’s sea blue eyes grew wide with awe at the sight of one of the longest rivers in France.

"…I’m gonna swim in that," she said to herself.

"That’s not a good idea, Asahina," Sakura told her, hearing what she said.

"But it’s the second-longest river in all of France! How could I pass up something like that, Sakura-chan?!"

"Well, that doesn’t mean we can’t go see it. Perhaps, I could take you one of these days, okay?"

"Okay…"

* * *

 At around 7:10 pm, the bus finally stopped in front of Saint-Germain des Prés. After the students all got their luggage out of the bus, Togami told them the hotel they’re all staying at is called Hotel Le Sénat, and to follow him in its direction. Since there were a lot of students, they all had to go four at a time until all sixteen students were on the 3rd Floor of the hotel. A few of them took peeks inside of the rooms, and were pretty amazed when Togami had told them he had reserved the Deluxe Rooms for their stay.

"W-Well, I of course know who I’m staying with," Fukawa remarked, linking her arm with Togami’s, "Come, Byakuya-sama!"

"And who said I’m staying in a room with you?" Togami sneered, ripping his arm away from Fukawa’s.

"Maizono-chan, we’re bunkin’ together, right?" Leon asked.

"Hmm… I really don’t know about that," Sayaka said, unsure, "I’m really not sure who I wanna bunk with."

“‘Ey, Kuwata-chi!” Hagakure called out, “Why don’t we bunk together? If not, then I’m cool with goin’ with Naegi-chi!” he added, pulling Naegi close to him in a friendly manner.

"Umm, that’s okay, Hagakure-kun," Naegi insisted.

Soon began an entire frenzy of arguements over whom would be bunking with whom. Fukawa was still trying to convince her “White Knight” to be her roommate, but Togami wanted nothing to do with her at all. Amongst the discord, Ishimaru twitched one of his eyebrows as he let out a low growl at the audible disturbance everyone was making. Fed up, the Hall Monitor took a sports whistle out of his pocket and blew into it, causing everyone’s pandemonium to die down.

"Class!" Ishimaru shouted, "If we’re going to choose roommates, then we’re going to do this in an  _orderly_ fashion! Since it’s two to a room, you are free to choose any roommate you want, but  **NO**  co-ed rooming will be allowed on this trip!” He then spoke again in a calmer tone with a blush, “The exception of course being Ikusaba-kun and I…”

"Dude, how’s that fair?!" Leon objected.

"Remember who still has your phone, Kuwata-kun," Ishimaru told him. "Alright! Ikusaba-kun, let’s check into our room at once—"

"She’s already bunking with Enoshima-chi," Hagakure said, cutting him off.

Surprised, Ishimaru turned around to see Mukuro walking into one of the rooms after Junko and closing the door without even noticing the Hall Monitor. Apparently, she hadn’t heard the last part of Ishimaru’s rules, so there was no way of knowing his intentions.

"Well, so much for that…" Ishimaru grumbled.

"Taka, if you want, you could bunk with me and Chihiro," Mondo offered.

"No, that’s fine, Mondo. After all, I did say two to a room, and it would be unjust of me to go back on my word."

"Then why don’t you and Oowada-kun bunk together?" Chihiro asked, "I don’t mind finding someone else."

"No no, Fujisaki-kun. It wouldn’t be fair of me if I did that. You two go on, I’ll find a roommate of my own! This I swear!"

"Alright, Kyoudai…" Mondo sighed, "Well, c’mon, Chihiro!" he piped up, lifting the Hacker up and carrying him into their room bridal-style, making him rather flattered and flustered at the sudden gesture.

When Ishimaru had looked around, he saw that the remaining guys were pretty much taken (Naegi with Togami; Yamada with Hagakure). However, he realized that there was actually one remaining guy left: Leon. Both guys had stared each other in the face with denial, surprise, and disbelief.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me…" they both groaned.

"Well, there’s no one left, so we have no choice," Ishimaru said flatly.

"Guess not," Leon sighed. He then suddenly perked up a little, "Well, beggars ain’t choosers, so let’s go, roomie~!"

"Please refrain from calling me that, Kuwata-kun…"

As the two boys entered their hotel room, Celes and Kirigiri were nearby having a little spat over whom would get to room with Sayaka.

"Maizono-san, I don’t recommend you become roommates with Celes-san," Kirigiri told her, "She wouldn’t be a very good candidate."

"Well, I’m sure Celes-san wouldn’t be too bad—"

"Ha, see? She said I’m not too bad a roommate. So, Maizono-san, dear, why don’t we check in?"

"I would be a much better choice, Maizono-san," Kirigiri argued, "So, why don’t you come with me instead?"

"G-Guys, I really don’t—"

"—Wish to stay with Kirigiri-san? I couldn’t have said it better myself, dearie!"

"That’s not what I was going to say…"

"Exactly, Celes-san. And if I had to guess, I’d say Maizono-san would rather choose me instead."

"Actually, I—"

"As if, Kyouko," the Gambler retorted, "Who on Earth would want to—"

“ _GUYS_!” Sayaka shouted, extremely irked, “I’m sure you two would make wonderful roommates, and I’d love to bunk with either one of you! But, I’ve already chosen my roommate, and it’s actually neither of you!”

"Then who is it?" Kirigiri and Celes asked, surprised. They were both surprised when the SHSL Idol went over to a rather… unexpected choice.

"Fukawa-san," Sayaka told them, smiling.

"What?!" the other three girls exclaimed.

"Great… this means I have to bunk with Celestia of all people," Kirigiri sighed, taking her luggage into the room, "Come on then."

After Celes and Kirigiri went into their room, Fukawa shot Sayaka another one of her nasty glares. The SHSL Literary Girl was still in a sour mood from Togami not being able to (or wanting to, for that matter) be her roommate for the trip. And becoming roommates with Maizono didn’t seem to brighten her mood at all.

"So, what’s your game?" Fukawa asked once she and Sayaka were both in the room with their luggage.

"My… game?" Sayaka asked, confused.

"D-Don’t play dumb! You must have  _something_  planned in that dumb little blue-haired head of yours to want to room with someone as ‘filthy’ as me! Th-This is obviously s-some sort of nasty prank, right?!”

"What? No no! I just thought that if we were roommates… you and I could become friends."

"A-As if I’d wanna be friends with some filthy b-bimbo like yourself! The minute you gain my trust, y-you’re just gonna change your tune and treat me like garbage! I’m not stupid…!"

"Bimbo?!" Sayaka gasped, offended and angry before getting herself to calm down. "…Fukawa-san, listen. I’d  _never_  do something like that to you! That’s just wrong! And… if you’re talking out of experience, then I’m really sorry that happened to you.”

Although the Literary Girl was surprised at the Idol’s sincerity, she merely said nothing and turned away from her while unpacking some of her stuff and placing it on one of the twin beds. Sighing, Sayaka did the same with her stuff as she moved it to the other bed.

"I do hope you change your mind soon…" she said quietly, still a bit disappointed.


	4. Mauvais Appetit!

That night at around 11:30 pm, Ishimaru was quickly setting up his side of the hotel room. Once he was finished with that, he started grabbing his bath towel, wash cloth, and pajamas to prepare for his shower until he heard a _CRUNCH_ sound coming from the other side of the room.

"...Kuwata-kun," he said, giving Leon an assertive stare.

"What?" Leon asked, munching on another chip.

"You're leaving crumbs all over the floor! Besides, why are you even eating chips this late at night? You should be in bed by now!"

"Geez, sorry, _Mom_. I'm just havin' a little snack."

"I am not your mother! And if you want a snack, then choose a better option than chips."

As a means to spite Ishimaru, Leon took out another chip and took an obnoxious bite out of it, leaving more crumbs to fall to the floor. Vexed, Ishimaru stormed over and snatched the small chip bag from Leon, crumpled it up with the remaining chips inside, and threw it into the trash-bin near the laptop table in front of their beds. Grabbing his toiletries again, Ishimaru stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"Hey, wait!" Leon cried, "What about my phone, Ishi?! A promise is a promise!"

The All-Star then let out a painful grunt as Ishimaru chucked his phone at his stomach before slamming the bathroom door again. At the impressive velocity of the toss, Leon nearly fell off the bed before catching himself and sitting up again.

"Geez, touchy..." Leon mumbled, rubbing his stomach, "But I gotta admit: dude's throw's almost as good as mine!"

Meanwhile in the Oowada/Fujisaki room, Mondo was lying on his bed with his hair unraveled and down and wearing his pajamas (which was merely a pair of gray sweatpants and no shirt) while resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. Ever since him and Chihiro had gotten settled in their hotel room, the very first thing the SHSL Hacker did was get to work on a new program (on the _room's_ laptop of all things). The only times the smaller boy would take a break was to use the bathroom, bathe, and eat.

"Kid..." Mondo groaned, "You've been workin' on that thing since we got here. Go to bed already."

"I'll go to bed in a bit, Oowada-kun," Chihiro yawned, tugging at his blue pajama shorts a bit, "Just give me a couple minutes."

"You've been saying that for HOURS! Kid, what did I tell ya about overdoing it with the programming?"

"I know, I know... But, you can't help sudden inspiration, Mondo! This is something the people of France need to see!"

"Can't it wait 'til tomorrow?"

"Nope! I'm in the _zone_!"

"Well, get _outta_ the zone and into your bed!"

"B-But, I'm already making so much progress! I won't be up for long, Mondo!"

Not believing his words for a second, Mondo got up from the bed and attempted to shut off the laptop. But in doing so, Chihiro instinctively smacked Mondo's hand and the Gang Leader drew it back from the desk.

"Oww!" he yelped, "The fuck was that for, Chihiro?!"

"Trying to interrupt my work," the smaller boy stated, still focused on his programming, "Maybe you should get some sleep, Mondo. It is getting pretty late, after all."

With the utmost annoyed look on his face, Mondo effortlessly lifted Chihiro out of the desk chair until he was squirming and upside-down. The Hacker tried to reach for the laptop, but he was no match for the Gang Leader's upper body strength.

"Please, at least let me save my work!" Chihiro screeched, finally reaching the laptop and saving his data before being pulled back by Mondo. "...Okay, _now_ I'll go to bed, alright?"

"Good," Mondo agreed, placing the Hacker onto the other bed and returning to his own to shut off the lamp light. "G'night, Kid."

"Good night, Oowada-kun," Chihiro yawned.

Once Mondo was in a deep enough sleep, Chihiro carefully got out of his bed and returned to the laptop to continue his work. The next morning, Mondo awoke to the sight of Chihiro dead asleep in front of an open laptop. Groaning and shaking his head, he walked over, lifted the smaller boy into his arms, and tucked him back into the bed before pulling the covers over him. 

* * *

 In the Naegi/Togami room that same morning, Naegi awoke to Togami coming out of the bathroom fully clothed and clean from a fresh shower. The Luckster rubbed his eyes to clear his groggy vision a bit more.

"Morning, Togami-kun," he yawned, "Are you going out?"

"Good morning, Naegi," Togami responded, fixing his X-shaped tie, "And yes, I'm going out to a restaurant."

"By yourself?"

"What do you take me for, boy? For your information, I am taking a... guest with me."

"Who's your guest?"

Hearing a few knocks on the door, Togami went over to answer it to none other than Fukawa, who was wearing a rose-colored blouse, a jean skirt long enough to cover her thighs, black stockings, and a pair of red sneakers. In addition, her hair was in a nicely-styled low ponytail. While she was elated to be going out for brunch with her "White Knight", Togami didn't appear to share her enthusiasm.

"You're taking Fukawa-san?" Naegi asked.

"Th-That's not a problem, is it, roach?!" Fukawa snapped at the brown-haired boy.

"Unfortunately, yes," Togami sighed reluctantly, "But don't get any 'ideas', Naegi. I'm only taking her because I wouldn't dare to be caught dead going off to a restaurant by myself. And, Fukawa seems like a... _slightly_ acceptable choice."

"A-Acceptable?" Fukawa repeated, amazed and awestruck, "Come on, Byakuya-sama! We're going to be late for our first date!"

"It's **not** a date," Togami hissed, face turning red, "I'm merely taking you as a guest and nothing more."

After leaving the building, Togami and Fukawa strolled to a restaurant called Le Conti, located not too far from Hotel Le Sénat. On the way there, the Literary Girl attempted to hold her crush's hand, only for the Heir to snatch his hand away in disgust. However, when they did get to the restaurant, Togami decided to flatter Fukawa by pulling her chair out for her before she sat down with glee.

"B-Bienvenue, monsieur et madame!" their waiter said to them nervously, "J-Je suis tes serveur aujourd'hui!"

"Oui, merci..." Togami sighed, deciding not to intimidate the obvious rookie of a waiter.

"Umm... qu'est-ce que je vous s-sers?"

"L-La salade, s'il vous plait," Fukawa told the waiter, who nodded and quickly went off to fetch the appetizer.

"Hmm, I didn't know you spoke French, Fukawa," Togami remarked.

"I learned a little bit in the past," Fukawa giggled, "Does that impress you, Byakuya-sama~?"

"I really couldn't care less. I've been fluent in French for years, so your skill clearly doesn't match up to mine."

"R-Right..."

"However, _perhaps_ you could one day become efficient in the language, though it would certainly take a long time to become as perfect at it as moi."

"D-Does that mean you're going to teach me, Byakuya-sama?"

"I'll... think about it. But, I wouldn't get your hopes up over it, Fukawa."

A few minutes later, their waiter had returned with a glass bowl of salad. He then took out a pepper mill and looked at the duo with nervousness.

"Souhaitez-vous du poivre?" he asked with a crack in his voice.

"Oui. Un peu, s'il vous plait," Togami responded.

However, when the waiter began twisting the pepper mill, the front accidentally came off, causing the entire mill's supply of pepper to spread everywhere. And much to Fukawa's misfortune, she had accidentally inhale a bit through her nose and was trying her best to fight back a sneeze.

"Oh, now you've done it, my friend..." Togami sighed, rather calm about the upcoming disaster.

"D-Done what?!" the waiter squeaked.

"A...A...A-Achoo!" Fukawa sneezed, burying her face into her hand.

Fukawa's head remained down for a few seconds of dead silence. While Togami wasn't surprised at all, the waiter was quite worried.

"M-Madame?" he asked, "Ça va--"

Before the waiter could finish his sentence, the Literary Girl rose up from the table. However, it was no longer Touko Fukawa, but rather her homicidal and eccentric counterpart, Genocider Syo. With her signature scissors dangling from the index and middle fingers on both hands, Syo let out a loud cackle that startled the whole restaurant into silence. Just the very sight of her was enough to make the waiter run off to another area of the restaurant.

"Hey-o, miss me~?!" she cackled before looking around, "Eh? This isn't Hope's Peak! Darling, where are we~?"

"Hello, Syo..." Togami groaned, rather annoyed, "If you must know, it's Spring Break and we're in Paris, France--"

"PARIS? Y'mean the City Of Lights and... Love~? Ah, I knew you'd come around someday, Byakuya-sama!"

Just then, their waiter came back with the manager of the restaurant. "Grégoire, what is wro--" His sentence was cut off upon spotting Syo. “Sacré Bleu! Le mains du ciseaux has returned! Run for your lives!”

At that moment, everyone in the restaurant ran out the door in absolute terror, leaving Togami and Syo behind at their table.

"Syo, have you been here before?" Togami asked her.

"You'd bet, hot stuff!" Syo boasted, grinning with her long tongue hanging out, "But, that's a story for our grandchildren to hear, 'k~?"

Rolling his eyes behind his glasses, the SHSL Heir threw his napkin onto the table and left with the SHSL Murderer following behind him. Eventually, the two returned to Hotel Le Sénat and its 3rd floor.

"So, which room are we sleeping in, my darling~?" Syo asked, excitedly, "After all, I can only imagine that we're gonna get 'down and dirty' once we go in and--"

Ignoring Syo, Togami returned to his and Naegi's room and slammed the door tight. Letting out a slight huff, Syo finally noticed the door labelled "Maizono/Fukawa" across the hall on the girls' side. Using the spare hotel room key she had found in her pocket, she went inside to check out the room. She didn't see Sayaka in the room, so she just plopped down onto Fukawa's bed.

"Hmph, guess Gloomy just didn't have the balls to room with Byakuya-sama!" she cackled. Syo then heard her stomach growl, realizing that Fukawa must not have eaten anything, "And, while I still have some time to myself, I might as well give myself a little treat!" She added, picking up the hotel room phone.


	5. Shopping Time with Fukawa and Maizono!

A couple hours later, the Genocider heard a conversation from outside of the door. Curious, she peeked outside of the door's peephole to see what was going on. In the hall, she saw Sayaka talking to Ishimaru while supporting Leon with her shoulder much like a crutch.

"Is Kuwata-kun okay?" Ishimaru asked, "What happened at that restaurant you went to?"

"Oh, he'll be fine," Sayaka insisted, "Poor Leon over here ordered 'Cervelle de Vache' and ate nearly half of his plate until the waiter told him what it was."

"Urgh... who the hell cooks cow brains and makes people eat them?!" Leon gagged, trying not to lose his lunch again.

"Well, let this be a lesson to you, Kuwata-kun," Ishimaru told him, supporting him onto his shoulder, "Be careful what you order when going to a restaurant."

"Ugh... whatever. Just take me back to my bed; I don't feel so good..."

"If it makes it any better, Leon, I had a fun time anyway!" Sayaka assured him, making the Baseball Player smile as Ishimaru took him back inside.

When the Idol passed the strange unattended and empty Room Service cart and opened the door, she was surprised to see Syo munching on some food instead of Fukawa. Taking a few steps back, she tried to regain focus and stay calm.

"F-Fukawa-san?" she asked, "You look... different. In a good way of course!"

"Well well well, has the little bluebird come back to the nest~?" Syo asked in an eccentric tone as she swallowed her food, "Plus, you've got that wrong! I'm the one and only Genocider Syo, the Super High School Level Murderer!" she introduced herself while holding up her scissors.

"M-M-Murderer?!" Sayaka gasped, afraid.

"Yep! I take it you haven't read the famous reports, right?"

Without responding, a terrified Sayaka ran straight into the hotel bathroom and locked it tight. As she stood back leaning against the door and breathing uneasily, the SHSL Idol's mind was now processing ways to survive this trip without getting killed, unaware of Syo's one rule when it comes to comitting murders. When she heard three knocks on the door, her body tensed up with fear.

"P-Please don't kill me, Syo-san!" she pleaded.

"Relax, I ain't gonna kill ya," Syo assured from the other side.

"...You... you're not? But, you're the SHSL Murderer and--"

"That may be so, but I'm also really picky about my victims. See, I only prefer to kill cute boys who're able to tickle my fancy if you know what I mean~ So, unless you're keeping secrets, I don't see myself killing you anytime soon."

Calming down, Sayaka slowly unlocked the door and walked out of the bathroom, staring face-to-face with Genocider Syo herself. While she did find it strange for a SHSL Murderer to have some kind of "killing conduct", she was far too relieved to care at this point.

"S-So... Syo-san," Sayaka told her, "How come I've never seen you before?"

"That's because I only come out when ol' Gloomy sees blood or sneezes," Syo explained.

"Umm, 'Gloomy'? Oh! You mean Fukawa-san. Well... she can be pretty pessimistic at times, but I'm sure she's a nice person deep down!"

"Pffft, if that's what you wanna think..."

"No really! I'd bet if someone gives her a chance and gets to know her more, then maybe she'd come out of her shell a bit!"

"Like I said, if that's what ya think..."

When Syo took another bite of her food, Sayaka's mind flashed back to the empty Room Service cart outside. Looking at the Genocider again, the SHSL Murderer merely finished off her food before talking.

"In case you're wondering about that cart... Let's just say I wouldn't go in the nearby supply closet if I were you~!" Syo told her.

"O-Oh..." Sayaka groaned.

Just then, Syo began sniffling a few times before she let out a sneeze. In nearly a heartbeat, she was regular old Fukawa once again. Looking around, the Literary Girl was pretty confused on where she was until she realized why she doesn't remember much.

"D-Did... did Syo come out again?!" Fukawa gasped.

"Yes, she did," Sayaka answered, "Don't worry, nothing bad happened! ...Well, except for probably that poor Room Service guy..."

"What?!"

"Nothing! Umm... listen, Fukawa-san. I was wondering, since it's still only two o'clock, maybe we could finally do something together?"

"Ugh, a-again with this? Wh-Why are you so out to get me?!"

"I'm not! I just wanna try and be friends! ...But, if you're not up for it, then I understand..."

Seeing how down the Idol now was, Fukawa was starting to get the feeling that her feelings were surprisingly not an act. Sighing, the Literary Girl adjusted her glasses and tried to lighten up a bit.

"F...Fine..." she said, "I-I guess we could... do something together."

"Really?! Oh thank you, Fukawa-san! On my way to the restaurant with Leon, I saw this amazing place! I think it was called 'Les Quatre Temps' or something. Do... do you wanna go there?"

"S-Sure... First, I need to redo my braids."

Removing the scrunchy from her hair, Fukawa began separating her long, dark brown locks into two sections before brushing one section at a time. Much to her surprise, Sayaka took said brush and began brushing the sections back together.

"H-Hey! Wh-What do you think you're doing, you insolent worm?!" Fukawa snapped.

"I... just thought it'd be easier to put your hair into one braid instead of two," Sayaka answered, still brushing the other girl's hair gently. "After all, we're in Paris, so why not have a French braid?"

Hearing Fukawa snicker a bit at the joke, Sayaka happily took it as a sign that she was finally getting her to open up a bit, even though Fukawa quickly frowned again a few seconds later. She then separated the SHSL Literary Girl's hair into three separate sections and began braiding the locks together.

"Wow, your hair's like super thick!" She exclaimed, still braiding the hair.

"Th-Thanks... I've been growing it out since I was a little girl..." Fukawa uttered, a bit flattered by Maizono's compliment.

Once Sayaka finished braiding Fukawa's hair, she tied it together at the end with a small pink hair tie. Looking at herself in the hotel room mirror, Fukawa was rather impressed with how nice the braid looked, and how kind Sayaka was being to her (though she was still a bit paranoid). Sitting down behind Sayaka on the bed, she managed to surprise the Idol.

"Oh? Did you wanna braid my hair this time?"

"I-If you're fine with someone as disgusting as me touching it, then... yeah."

"Of course I'm alright with it, but I certainly don't think you're disgusting in any way!"

As Fukawa repeated what Sayaka did by brushing her hair together before separating it into three sections, she carefully braided it altogether and placed it over the Idol's shoulder while tying the end with a hair tie. Taking a look in the mirror, Sayaka smiled at the way her hair looked and thanked Fukawa for it.

"Okay then! Let's go!" Sayaka chirped, leading Fukawa out of the room before locking the hotel room door.

The girls made their way out of Hotel Le Sénat and into the Saint-Germain-des-Prés' metro station. Once both of their metro tickets were punched in, they stood on the long escalator that carried them down to the station. Soon enough, they wound up boarding their train, and after a 20-minute ride, Maizono and Fukawa finally arrived near Les Quatre Temps. The place was huge and extravagant, which had impressed both girls.

Looking at the directory, Sayaka suggested that they start with a fancy French clothes store on the 2nd floor. Riding the up escalator, the girls found the store they were looking for and went inside without hesitation (at least, none from Maizono, anyway). During their time inside, the two pretty much took turns trying on and showing each other several different outfits. By the time they left that one store, they both had about 5 bags each.

"Th-That... wasn't s-so bad," Fukawa uttered.

"Where do you wanna go next?" Sayaka asked.

"I... wouldn't mind trying out a French café. I heard this city's chock full of them."

"Then let's go!"

After finding a suitable café on the mall's directory, the girls took their bags and headed in that direction. Once they were taken to their table by their waitress, she gave them some time to order and walked off.

"So, Fukawa-san," Sayaka began, looking at her menu that was written in entirely French, "Are you... having fun?"

"Y-Yes, I actually am," Fukawa answered, skimming her menu, "B-But... I still don't get why you're being so nice t-to someone as filthy as me!"

"Because I thought we could be friends, y'know? ...Other than you guys and my bandmates, I don't really have anyone else."

"Huh? B-But, what about all of those 'adoring fans' of yours?"

"Some of them are very nice and all, but I don't really consider them my friends, per se. I mean, you can't really be friends with someone who only sees you for who you are on the outside. Besides, until I became an Idol... I was all alone."

"Alone? H-How could someone like you be all alone?"

"Well, when you grow up without a Mom and a Dad who works nearly 24/7, then yeah, you'd be pretty much on your own, wouldn't you?"

"Well... a-at least you had a regular home and parents..." Fukawa muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Just then, their waitress returned and asked if they were ready to order. Sayaka ordered some lemonade and some Camembert fondant with a side of green salad, while Fukawa merely ordered a cup of decaffeinated espresso and a croque-madame. Once the waitress left with their menus, the two girls began talking again.

"I'd... rather not talk about it..." Fukawa continued, "L-Let's just say that it's led me to nothing but misery. But hey, if you were pretty much bullied a-and rejected for nearly half your life, then you'd be like this too, wouldn't you?"

"...Fukawa-san..." Sayaka breathed, sympathetic, "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I-It's not like you did nothing but torment me, or even tell me you hate me because you were too embarrassed to be seen with me. O-Or hell, you've probably never been stood up on a date you've spent nights preparing for!"

At that, Fukawa looked down at the table with her hands on her head, and even let a few tears fall from her gray-brown eyes and roll past her glasses. She then looked up again upon feeling Sayaka gently touch her hand with a sincere look on her face.

"Fukawa-san..." she said, "I promise, I'll never do any of that stuff to you. To be honest, you deserve much better treatment than that! I mean, you're a fantastic writer and also a pretty nice girl! I mean, I understand it'd be hard to trust people after what you've been through... but, I swear I won't be like that. So, if you're up for it, could we be friends?"

Without saying anything, Fukawa linked her pinky with Maizono's and nodded "yes" with a small smile. Smiling, Sayaka grasped her pinky a bit tighter before letting go.

"Thank you, Fukawa-san," Sayaka told her.

"Y-You're... free to call me 'Touko'," Fukawa responded, still smiling.

After their food and drinks came, the two girls spent the rest of the mall trip eating their food and conversing a bit more before picking up their purchases and leaving. When they got back to the hotel, a few of the students peeked out and were surprised to see Fukawa actually smiling and happy.

"Th-That was fun, Sayaka-san," Fukawa told her, taking her shopping bags into the room, "We should do that again sometime, okay?"

"Sounds good to me, Touko-chan!" Sayaka responded, following the Literary Girl with her own purchases.

"Well, at least Fukawa-chan seems to be in a good mood," Asahina stated, rather glad.

"That's a first..." Togami remarked, going back into his room.

"What I don't get is how two girls can just suddenly become friends in less than a day..." Mondo said.

"Indeed. It is quite strange..." Ishimaru agreed.

"How is it strange?!" Naegi questioned the Hall Monitor and Gang Leader, "You two used to hate each other but you later became friends just like that!" He added with a snap of his fingers.

"...Shit, he's right," Mondo realized, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Regardless! Female friendships are still quite different from the deep bonds of male friendships! Right, Kyoudai?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Kyoudai!"

Once Ishimaru and Mondo went back to their respective rooms, Naegi merely sighed with a small smile and a nod before heading back into his and Togami's room himself.


	6. Of Dating Advice and Fortune Telling!

Later that afternoon, Ishimaru nervously stood in front of the Enoshima/Ikusaba room's door with sweaty palms, a racing heart, and a deepening blush. As his breathing became more erratic, he tried to take a few deeper breaths to compose himself.

"Calm down, Kiyotaka!" he told himself, "You're just going to ask Ikusaba-kun on a da-- da-- outing! J-Just a simple outing! Okay, here I go...!"

But, before he could even make one little knock on the door, he drew backwards as Junko flung open the door with a denim black-and-white handbag on her shoulder. She was wearing white sunglasses, a dark pink faux fur coat, black leggings, and a gray version of her usual heeled boots. In addition, her strawberry-blonde pigtails were curled and looked like they had been recently washed, and the SHSL Fashionista's hair was topped with a matching black French beret.

"Come on, Sis!" she called behind her, "I haven't got all day! Junko then noticed Ishimaru in front of her, "Huh? And what do you want, Ishimaru?"

"Good afternoon, Enoshima-kun," Ishimaru sighed, "I... just wanted to ask Ikusaba-kun somethi--"

Just then, Mukuro had come out of the room carrying her small camoflauge purse. At the very sight of her, Ishimaru's eyes widened with awe as he felt his entire face turn red. Mukuro's outfit consisted of a long-sleeved black-and-white striped shirt, a grey skirt that hung above her black knee-socks, and dark gray low-heeled boots. While her black bob was in its usual brushed style, it also donned the Soldier's favorite kitty hairclip.

"I apologize for being late, Junko-chan," Mukuro told her sister sincerely. When she noticed a blushing Ishimaru beside Junko, she was about to give her usual military salute when she remembered what she had been told before they came to Paris. "Salutations, Ishimaru-kun."

"Good afternoon, Ikusaba-kun!" he squeaked, bowing honorably as sweat rolled down his face, "You look very lovely!"

"Umm... thanks. You too?"

"I-Ikusaba-kun! I-- I was going to ask you if you weren't busy, I could take you somewhere in the city?"

"Well... I suppose I wouldn't--"

"Upupu, sorry, Ishi!" Junko interrupted, covering her twin sister's mouth, "Mukuro-chan's way too busy hangin' out with her favorite little sis!"

"Erm, Junko-chan and I were gonna go to a few Parisian boutiques, so I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer for now, Ishimaru-kun."

"O-Oh. Okay then," Ishimaru sighed, disappointed, "Perhaps next time, then?"

Before Mukuro could answer, Junko carried her off to the elevator. Sighing, a somber Ishimaru returned to his and Leon's room, where he saw his temporary roommate watching something on the room's TV, despite everything being in French. However, the All-Star's attention then turned to Ishimaru entering the room and laying on his own bed.

"Ya strike out with Ikusaba, roomie?" Leon asked.

"...I don't wanna talk about it," Ishimaru sighed, "She said no anyways."

"Eh, look. Try not to get yourself bent out of shape over it, 'k? There're lots of fish in the sea, Taka!"

"Yes, but _this_ fisherman only has eyes for one very beautiful fish, nay, _mermaid_! A very beautiful mermaid who has integrity, honor, and works hard to accomplish her goals! Not to mention, she--"

"Okay okay, I get it. Look, next time you see Ikusaba, just try again. And if she's still not interested, then it's fine; the important thing is that ya tried. If that's the case, don't hound her because you got rejected. That not only makes you look stupid, but it also makes you a shallow asshole."

"I would never do such a thing! I would be perfectly fine with becoming great friends with Ikusaba-kun! But... what if she _does_ turn out to be interested, Kuwata-kun?"

"Then that's even better! When ya take her somewhere in that case, just be yourself. ...Uhh, more or less."

"Thank you, Kuwata-sensei! I will take your advice to heart the next time I see Ikusaba-kun!"

"Sensei? Uhh, I mean... don't mention it, roomie! After all, you're talkin' to the Master of Dating Advice!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at a boutique called "Antione & Lili", Mukuro was waiting outside a dressing room for Junko, who was trying on a bunch of fancy French outfits. She was leaning against the wall, only seeing a bunch of different clothes hanging over the dressing room door.

"So... Junko-chan," Mukuro said, "I just don't understand."

"Understand what, Sis?" Junko asked coming outside with a new outfit, "You likey?"

"Y-Yes, it looks very lovely on you, Junko. But, what I don't understand is Ishimaru-kun and his behavior."

"Oh, puh-lease. Who _does_ understand that loser?"

"That's not what I meant. I mean... don't his actions seem rather strange whenever I go near him? Just before we left, he looked like he was... afraid of me. The same applies for back in Osaka!"

"...Upupu... Upupupu, afraid?! _Afraid_?! Oh my God, Mukuro! How oblivious can ya get?!" Junko cackled, absolutely hysterical.

"I'm not being oblivious, Junko-chan. Everytime I so much as make eye contact with Ishimaru-kun, he always looks nervous and uneasy. I know fear when I see it; I'm no fool."

"Pffft, you clearly are, Big Sis! You wouldn't recognize a huge crush even if it bit you in the ass!"

"...Crush?" Mukuro asked, confused.

"Upupupu, _incredible_! Literally the only person in class who doesn't know Brows is crazy in love with you is _you_ of all people! Oh, how despairing it must be for him!"

Mukuro was absolutely stunned at Junko's words. After all, the possibility of Ishimaru being infatuated with her made sense, but what didn't make sense was someone who didn't fear her (which was a very rare occurrence for the SHSL Soldier). Even after she left the boutique alongside Junko (who was still cackling endlessly from what Mukuro actually believed) and her purchases, the feelings of confusion didn't go away.

* * *

 Back at the hotel, Hagakure was sitting in his room with Yamada, who's palm was currently being read by the aforementioned SHSL Fortune Teller.

"Alright, Yamada-chi," Hagakure said, examining the other guy's palm, "According to your heart line... you've got little interest in romance."

"Well, I do only have eyes for 2D girls, so you really aren't too far off!" Yamada responded, "What else?"

"Hmm... well, according to your life line, you... think clearly with great focus."

"Once again, accurate! As a SHSL Doujin Author, I must focus clearly on my work! It's no wonder you acquired your title, Hagakure Yasuhiro-dono! Did you happen to bring your crystal ball with you?"

"Dude, I never leave home without it!" Hagakure chuckled, taking his crystal ball out of his suitcase, "But, we'll need to go into the bathroom to read it."

When the Doujin Author and Fortune Teller went into their room's bathroom, the latter filled the sink up with water and placed his crystal ball onto the surface. Examining the crystal ball for some time, Hagakure stood up before speaking.

"Alrighty, Yamada-chi," he said, "In my crystal ball... I saw a beautiful garden, full of plants and a lot of water."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Yamada remarked.

"But wait! I also see... a beautiful French building! Not only that, there's gonna be some huge... misunderstanding that's gonna lead to a whole bunch of crazy events."

"Really? That must be some crystal ball you have there, Hagakure Yasuhiro-dono!"

"Well, ya also gotta remember that my predictions are only 30% accurate, so there's a 70% chance that not everything's gonna happen."

"Oh..."

Just then, both guys' stomachs began growling. Hagakure then picked up his crystal ball before draining the sink water and leaving the bathroom.

"Wanna go get some lunch?" Hagakure asked, "I could do a few tarot readings in the hotel's restaurant."

"Then let us make haste!" Yamada exclaimed, bolting out of the room.

"Well, someone seems anxious..." the SHSL Fortune Teller remarked, following the Doujin Author to the elevator after locking their room door.


	7. Le Centre Georges "Pompadour"

In the Oowada/Fujisaki room the next morning, Chihiro woke up in a rather groggy manner to the sound of Mondo and Ishimaru's voices. Letting out a low groan, the SHSL Hacker slowly opened his caramel-brown eyes.

"Chihiro, you awake yet?" Mondo asked.

"Mrrrmm... Grandma?" Chihiro groaned, wearily rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, it's Grandma," Mondo responded sarcastically, "Come on, wake up! Kyoudai and I are takin' you somewhere!"

"...You're not Grandma..."

"Wakey-wakey, Fujisaki-kun!" Ishimaru exclaimed, "Waking up early is essential when getting ready for the day's events! Now come on, get ready at once!"

Yawning, Chihiro climbed out of his bed, grabbed an outfit from his suitcase, and dragged himself into the bathroom. After showering for a fair amount of time and finally drying off, he came out of the bathroom dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt underneath a green T-shirt, tan knee-length shorts, white socks, and dark blue sneakers.

"Ready!" he chirped, "So, where are we going?"

"It's a place called the 'Centre Georges Pompidou'," Ishimaru answered, looking at his map of Paris.

"Obviously, 'Pompidou' must be the way French people say 'pompadour', right?" Mondo asked, "So, it's prolly not such a bad place to go to!"

"Actually, Kyoudai," Ishimaru corrected, "It's named after Georges Pompidou, the 151st Prime Minister of France! He would also later become the 19th President of France. Also, I highly doubt that's the French word for 'pompadour'..."

"Leave it to Ishimaru-kun to have lots of fun facts..." Chihiro remarked, smiling.

"So in that case, this Georges Pompidou guy prolly _didn't_ have a pomp?" Mondo asked.

"I kinda doubt he would, Mondo. After all, a politician needs to look as professional as possible!"

"Whatever... we're still goin 'cause I need to see the city and get outta this hotel," Mondo sighed, "C'mon guys, let's go!"

The trio went to the Saint-Germain-des-Prés metro and soon boarded the train to their destination. Once they finally arrived, they wound up having to wait in the long and tedious security line for half an hour, during which a vexed Mondo was forced to hold his tongue so as not to do anything reckless to the annoying 5-year old tugging on his jacket. When the trio finally got inside, they were all amazed by the fancy sights of the building.

"Y'know, this place is actually pretty damn impressive for a museum..." Mondo remarked.

"Isn't it a bit much, though?" Chihiro wondered.

"Well, France _is_ quite different from Japan, Fujisaki-kun," Ishimaru answered, "So, I suppose that's how French museums are supposed to look. Come on! Let's go see some of the exhibits!"

As they began walking through the large museum, the Hall Monitor, Hacker, and Gang Leader soon came across a strange exhibition of a giant orange mushroom. The model was actually tall enough to fall right above Mondo's maize-shaped pompadour.

"Well, it appears there's a fungus among us!" Ishimaru chuckled, "Get it?"

"Ugh... I mean, y-yeah! Nice one, Kyoudai!" Mondo agreed, suddenly laughing at the joke.

"Careful not to laugh too hard, Kyoudai," Ishimaru told him, "You might have to be escorted to the 'Emergency Shroom'!"

"Haha, okay okay!" Chihiro giggled, "Let's keep going then." He then pointed to the museum map in Ishimaru's hands, "Why don't we go check out the Yayoi Kusama exhibit?"

Once the other two boys agreed to that, all three students followed in the direction of the exhibit. Upon entering one, they were all amazed at the sight of a black room full of bright multi-colored dots that resembled the extravagant stars that lit up the ominous night sky.

"I ain't one for museums, but this is pretty fuckin' impressive!" Mondo remarked, amazed.

"Language, Kyoudai," Ishimaru warned him, "But, it's quite amazing on what Kusama-kun had likely worked years on!"

"She must have been an amazing artist to make something like this..." Chihiro breathed, still mezmerized by the exhibit.

The trio eventually moved onto another Kusama exhibit room, this one completely red and covered in large white spots, much like that of a toadstool. Due to the camoflauged atmosphere, they accidentally bumped into a few walls and balloons. When they were near the exit, Mondo accidentally bumped into a male museum guest who appeared to be in his mid-20s.

"Regardez où vous allez!" the man snapped.

"Oi, it was a fuckin' accident. Get over it," Mondo hissed back.

"Tch, stupide asiatique..."

"The fuck did you just call me?! Dem's fightin' words, punk!"

Ishimaru and Chihiro quickly held their friend back to stop him from doing anything reckless. But, the minute the rude French man had whacked Chihiro in the forehead and shoved Ishimaru onto the ground, Mondo's temper had finally exploded.

"Et maintenant, tromper--" the man began to say.

The man couldn't finish his sentence due to a furious Mondo tackling him to the ground and mercilessly socking him in the face over and over while yelling a few curses and insults. Ishimaru and Chihiro immediately got up from the ground and held Mondo back from the French man who was now bleeding, had a black eye, a few bruises, and some missing teeth.

"Lemme at 'im, lemme at 'im!" Mondo roared, still trying to lung out at the man.

"I... think it's time to go now!" Chihiro insisted, taking Mondo towards the exit with Ishimaru.

By the time the three boys left Le Centre Georges Pompidou, Mondo had finally calmed down completely. As they strolled down the street, Chihiro hung his head while Ishimaru was giving Mondo a look of pure disapproval.

"What is the matter with you, Mondo?!" Ishimaru snapped, "You didn't have to beat the guy up!"

"Oi, that fucker had it comin', Taka!" Mondo retorted, "No one fucks with Mondo Oowada or his friends like that!"

"Regardless, it's obvious you can't even go one measly week without resorting to needless violence! I am severely disappointed in you!"

"...Fine, next time you need my help, don't come cryin' to me, Ishimaru!"

"I won't! I'll merely deal with it in a more _civilized_ way!"

"Be my fuckin' guest, 'cause I don't--"

"Guys, don't fight!" Chihiro cried as tears began to form in his eyes, "...I don't like it when you two start fighting. It makes me really uncomfortable..."

The other two boys then began to feel bad about making Chihiro upset, so they both sighed and began calming down. Looking at each other, they just gave each other approving nods as a way of calling a small truce.

"...Sorry, Kyoudai," Mondo apologized, "Sorry to you too, Kid."

"Same here. I apologize for upsetting you, Fujisaki-kun," Ishimaru said.

"It's alright, guys," Chihiro assured them, "Why don't we go somewhere else nearby?"

"Hmm... according to my map," Ishimaru stated, looking at said map, "The closest place we can go is... ah! The Louvre!"

"Ugh, isn't that that French art museum?" Mondo groaned, "Besides, we were just at a museum."

"Well, Oowada-kun," Chihiro said, "Le Louvre is one of the most famous places in Paris! And, w-we really have nothing else to do, so..."

"So, let's go!" Ishimaru exclaimed, hurrying in the direction of Le Louvre.

Sighing to themselves, Mondo and Chihiro quickly ran in the same direction, trying to catch up with their excited, bushy-browed comrade.


	8. Musée du Louvre Goes To The Dogs!

As Chihiro, Ishimaru, and Mondo were heading towards The Louvre, they were startled when a stray dog came running in their direction until it stopped in front of them. Strange enough, the dog had a silver heart-shaped locket centered with a beautiful ruby in its mouth.

"Aw, sweet! A Papillon!" Mondo exclaimed, crouching down at the dog's height, "Where'd ya come from, cutie?"

"Kyoudai, no picking up strays," Ishimaru warned him.

"But wait... why does it have a locket in its mouth?" Chihiro wondered.

Just then, the trio heard faint yelling coming from behind them. Upon looking, they saw the yelling coming from Leon, who was running in their direction with an angry look on his face.

"Get back here, you stupid dog!" he yelled.

Once Leon got close, the Papillon began baring its teeth and growling. The Baseball Player then tried to pull the locket out from between the dog's teeth, but it still fought back regardless.

"That locket's for Sayaka!" Leon growled through gritted teeth, "Let... go!"

"Leon, cut it out!" Mondo snapped, making the other boy stop pulling. "The fuck's wrong with you?! You're gonna yank its fuckin' teeth out, jackass!"

"What's wrong with you?! This stupid mutt stole my locket!"

Saying nothing to Leon, Mondo crouching before the Papillon with a firm look on his face. In return, the dog merely looked at him with a blank stare, locket still between its teeth.

"Drop it," he told the Papillon. The dog did not comply, but still gave him a blank stare, " _Drop it_."

At the firmer tone, the Papillon opened its mouth and dropped the locket. Leon picked his gift for Sayaka up, but was disgusted by the now-moist silver metal on the handle and a bit on the heart.

"Eww! Dog slobber!" he whined, placing the locket back in its case.

Mondo then gave the Papillon a gentle scratch under its chin, making it pant happily before rolling over on its back.

"Aww, who's a good... uhh, girl!" Mondo pointed out, scratching the dog's stomach, "Who's a good girl? You are, you are!"

"How come she doesn't growl at you?" Leon complained.

"'Cause _I_ didn't try to yank a stupid necklace from her teeth," Mondo retorted, standing up again.

"Not to mention, Oowada-kun's good with dogs," Chihiro added.

"After all, he used to own a dog, right?" Ishimaru asked.

"Yeah, I did..." Mondo sniffled, tears starting to roll from his eyes, "I'll never forget ya, Chuck...!"

"Ah..." Leon sighed, "So, where're you guys headin' to?"

"We were heading off to The Louvre," Ishimaru told him, "Would you like to come with us, Kuwata-kun?"

"Eh... why not? The only thing I've accomplished today was chasing this here dog around Paris. Let's go!"

When the now-quartet began walking off to The Louvre, it was only when they were two blocks away from the museum when they noticed the stray Papillon was following them with pleading eyes. More importantly, it seemed to be walking close to Leon and Mondo.

"Uhh... hey there," Leon told her, only to get a stare and a head tilt from the Papillon.

"I don't think dogs are welcome in the museum..." Ishimaru stated, "What are we going to do with it?"

"Hmm... don't worry, I've got this," Mondo told them, "You guys just go on ahead, 'k?"

* * *

 Soon, Chihiro, Leon, and Ishimaru entered the giant glass pyramid that was The Louvre's main entrance. Once they walked down the spiral stairs, Mondo soon caught up to him. As they were walking, Chihiro could have sworn he saw Mondo's pompadour wiggle, but he merely rubbed his eyes and saw nothing after.

When the quartet passed a statue by the name of "Marie Madeleine", Leon gave a little wolf whistle at the statue's marble anatomy, only to earn a glare from Ishimaru. However, Mondo flinched as his pompadour began shaking again, this time a pair of fluffy dog ears popping from them.

"Kyoudai," Ishimaru asked him, "Is there something in your hair?"

"N-No no! Nothin' at all!" Mondo lied, pushing the ears back into his follicles, "Honest!"

"Hmm... well, perhaps it was just an eye trick. You're off the hook for now, Mondo. I just hope you didn't do anything _irrational_."

Further into the museum, they saw a bunch of fascinating statues, and even came across a Michelangelo statue called "Esclave Mourant". At the sight of the beautiful art and culture these artifacts carried with them, Ishimaru began examining it and the nearby art pieces with great interests.

"Absolutely amazing!" he beamed, "I'm sure the great Michelangelo must have had great work ethic to create such a masterpiece! See, this is a fantastic example that those who put effort into things are bound to create something beautiful!"

"What an inspirational speech, Ishimaru-kun," Chihiro said with a small smile.

"Isn't it though?"

"Hey, Mondo," Leon joked, pointing to the statue's marble genitalia, "Who'd have thought Michelangelo would predict the size of your dick?"

"Hey, least _my_ dick's got better chances of gettin' some than yours!"

"Oh, right. Tell that to the hundreds of girls that rejected ya because you yelled at 'em!"

"Why don't you _eat_ a dick, Kuwata?!"

"That's enough, guys!" Ishimaru scolded, intervening, "We're here to look at famous artwork, _not_ to cause trouble! Now, behave or else!"

Rolling their eyes, Mondo and Leon followed Ishimaru and Chihiro into a different section of The Louvre. After a few feet of steps, they wound up near the paintings. The quartet came to a stop as they saw a rather famous painting.

"Wow! Is that the Mona Lisa?!" Chihiro beamed, "I never thought I'd see it up-close!"

"Fascinating, isn't it, Fujisaki-kun?" Ishimaru asked, "Yes, the Mona Lisa is one of da Vinci's most famous works. See, da Vinci actually modeled the Mona Lisa after--"

"Hey, Leon!" Mondo called out, pointing to a painting titled "Virgin of the Rocks", "I didn't know they had a painting named after ya!"

"What was that?!" an offended Leon screeched, ganging up on Mondo, "Wh-Whatever, least I've actually got the balls to ask someone out!"

"Oh, totally! How'd that dinner date with Maizono go?"

At that moment, Leon and Mondo began tussling in an angry manner. Their fight had eventually gotten so out of control that they wound up landing on the bench in front of the painting hard enough to break it in two. Before an irritated Ishimaru could storm over, a security guard beat him to the spot.

"Vous deux!" The security guard snapped, "Laissez Musée du Louvre à la fois!"

"Umm, w-we don't want any trouble sir!" Chihiro insisted, helping Mondo and Leon off the ground, "Really!"

"Exactly, we were just _leaving_ ," Ishimaru hissed through gritted teeth as he began pulling the Baseball Player and Gang Leader by the ears.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Leon and Mondo winced as Ishimaru began dragging them towards the exit with an embarrassed Chihiro following.

"Adieu!" The security guard told them, "Jouissez Paris!"

Upon seeing the four Japanese boys leave, the security guard saw a pair of Papillon ears popped in and out of Mondo's pompadour, making him blink a few times before walking off. Once Ishimaru and the others were out of The Louvre, he stopped yanking on their ears and began storming off with Chihiro.

"That is the **last**  time I take you two to a museum!" he snapped, "You two clearly don't know how to behave." Suddenly, Ishimaru heard his stomach growl rather loudly, causing him to turn rosy in his serious-looking face.

"Sounds like someone's hungry~" Leon pointed out in a sing-song voice, "Let's go get something to eat."

"Maybe there's a café or restaurant nearby!" Chihiro added.

Just then, they heard a low growling sound coming from Mondo. However, rather than being from his stomach, it was coming from his corncob-shaped pompadour. As the familiar dog ears popped out from the hair, Leon went over and was surprised to take out the stray Papillon from before.

"You again?" Leon wondered, looking at the panting dog.

"Mondo, did you seriously bring a dog into The Louvre?!" Ishimaru exclaimed, "I thought you said you'd take care of her!"

"I was gonna, but the poor thing didn't have a fuckin' collar," Mondo explained, "...Couldn't let her go off somewhere dangerous."

"What are we going to do with her?" Chihiro asked.

The stray Papillon then began licking Leon's face happily before licking Mondo's face in the same manner. Looking at the dog, the boys saw that the dog had taken a liking to both of them.

"...Guess she's stayin' with us," Leon said, "Not to mention, Hotel Le Sénat allows pets."

With their little dog too, the quartet boarded a nearby bus and searched out the window for a nearby restaurant (while Leon and Mondo were also looking for a nearby pet shop for the Papillon). Once the bus came to a stop near a building, the boys and dog all got off.

"Folies Pigalle?" Ishimaru wondered.

"Must be some kinda fancy restaurant," Mondo suggested, "It's got a pretty flashy sign."

"Let's go in," Leon said, "And this time, I'm gonna ask for a translator when I read the menu."

When the boys entered the building, they were quite surprised at what they saw. While there were a few tables inside, there was also loud music and older French women wearing rather... suggestive outfits.

"Bonjour, petit garcon~" One of the women greeted Chihiro as she stroked the uncomfortable Hacker's face, "Ce que tu apportes ici~?"

"Ease off, lady," Mondo told her sternly, pulling Chihiro away from her, "The kid ain't interested."

"Oh, la-la~!" Another woman crooned, wrapping a leg around Mondo, "Trés mignon~!"

"Yeah... sorry, chica," Mondo said, gently pushing the woman off of him, "I ain't interested either."

"I'm... gonna go see if we can find the special," Ishimaru breathed, walking in a different direction.

"Eh, go ahead and take your time, Ishi!" Leon insisted as he was being surrounded by pretty women, "I don't mind!"

"We're coming with you, Taka!" Mondo and Chihiro squeaked at the same time, running away from the suggestive women.

Ishimaru then walked up to a sleeping middle-aged man behind the counter, who had suddenly woken up upon hearing Ishimaru tap the counter.

"P-Pardon, monsieur" Ishimaru asked, "What are your specials?"

"Малыш,, я не говорю по-японски," the man responded.

"Oh, you're Russian!" A surprised Ishimaru exclaimed before clearing his throat. "Каковы ваши скидки здесь?"

"Скидки? Что вы говорите?"

"Умм, разве это не ресторан?"

"What do you think they're saying, Oowada-kun?" Chihiro whispered to Mondo.

"Do I look like I speak 'Vodka-ese' to you, Chihiro?" Mondo asked as a response.

"Бордель?! ... Ну, что бы объяснить все женщин, носящих скорее скудный наряды ..." Ishimaru sighed, "Спасибо!"

"нет проблем," the counter guy responded.

"Gentleman, I think it's time we made our leave _immediately_!" Ishimaru squeaked, "Apparently, Folies Pigalle is a Parisian brothel..."

"Fine by us!" Mondo and Chihiro responded.

"Kuwata-kun, we're leaving!" Chihiro called to him as him and the others walked towards the exit.

"Nah, you guys go ahead!" Leon insisted, "I'm gonna stay a while--"

Before Leon could finish his sentence, he was approached by a chunky and quite hairy middle-aged man wearing nothing but black spandex and nipple rings while smoking a cigarette.

"Bonjour, beau~" he purred in a raspy voice, "Avez-vous soif~?"

"...Wait for me, guys!" Leon practically screamed, picking up the Papillon and bolting out of there.

Outside of Folies Pigalle, the quartet merely stood on the sidewalk in absolute silence. Ishimaru and Mondo had blank, yet flabbergasted expressions, Chihiro was covering his beet red face with his hands, and Leon was still covering the dog's eyes like he did when he left.

"......Let us never speak of this again," Ishimaru spoke.

"Sounds good to me!" the other boys squeaked.

The metro train ride back to Hotel Le Sénat was a rather awkward and fairly speechless one. Once the train returned back to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, they all hurried out of the metro station and into the hotel and its elevator. Upon reaching the 3rd floor, their plans to reach their hotel rooms with no hassle went up in smoke when Sayaka came out of her and Fukawa's room.

"Hi guys! How was your day in the city?" Sayaka asked.

"Ah... it was great, Saya! We went to that famous museum, and even… grabbed a bite to eat!" Leon lied.

"He's lying, Maizono-kun," Ishimaru told her, "While it is true we went to The Louvre, it was rather disastrous. And afterwards, the four of us accidentally walked into a broth--"

"--Only restaurant!" Leon squeaked, covering Ishimaru's mouth, "Yep, I-I’ve never seen so much broth in my life…!"

"...Eh?" Sayaka wondered.

"Uhh... yeah!" Mondo confirmed, "There was a lotta soup in that place!"

"Th-There was… ah! I think there was some French Onion Soup as one of the choices!" Chihiro added, sweating.

"And all those breasts— err, _chicken_ breasts! Yep, those jiggly, I mean, _tender_ chicken breasts!" Leon squeaked, still covering Ishimaru's mouth.

Once Mondo and Chihiro returned to their room, Leon quickly unlocked his room and pushed Ishimaru into it before closing the door quickly. He then remembered what happened before the series of events following him joining up with Mondo, Ishimaru, and Chihiro.

"Ah, wait! Sayaka, I bought you something," Leon said, handing Sayaka a dark blue jewelry case.

"For me?" Sayaka asked before becoming awestruck at the ruby heart-locket, "Oh, Leon! It's beautiful, thank you so much!" She then hugged him with gratitude.

"H-Hey, it was no big deal!" Leon chuckled, blushing, "It only cost me a mere 75 Euros."

"Isn't that the European equivalent of ¥10,000? You really didn't have to spend that much."

"I said it was no big deal. I wanted to get ya this locket! And, it doesn't really matter; I'm goin' back out to spend more money on food, a collar, and a food and water bowl for Ruby."

"Ruby?"

Just then, Ruby walked up to Sayaka and began sniffing her ankle. The little Papillon then began nuzzling her furry little cheek against the Idol's sock, making the human girl smile happily.

"Aww, you got a dog too?" Sayaka beamed.

"Sorta... this little rascal tried making off with your present, and... we eventually clicked I guess." He then picked up Ruby into his arms, feeling her wag her tail against his jacket, "C'mon, Ruby. Let's go get you some eats. Say bye to Sayaka-chan."

Giving Maizono a little lick, Ruby was then carried off towards the elevator by Leon. Putting her new locket around her neck, Sayaka was flattered by both Ruby's gesture and Leon's generous gift, the latter making her blush. However, as she returned to her room where Fukawa awaited with a paused DVD and some popcorn, she still couldn't help but wonder what happened to Leon and the others before they returned.


	9. L'arc de Romance Triomphale

That night, Leon was sleeping in his bed (with Ruby sleeping in her little plush dog bed) when a bright light made him wake up. Groggily opening his eyes, he saw Ishimaru looking at something on the room's laptop.

"Hrmm... and you yell at me for not goin' to bed?" Leon yawned, crawling out of bed quietly so as not to wake Ruby, "What're you looking at anyways?"

"N-Nothing!" Ishimaru yelped, quickly covering the laptop screen.

"Come on, roomie! You can tell me anything!"

Leon then ripped Ishimaru's arms away from the laptop, only to discover he was looking at a page titled "Top 10 Most Romantic Sites In Paris". Looking at Ishimaru, he gave him a rather sly look.

"Ooh! Finally planning a little date-date for you and Ikusaba~?" he teased.

"It is not a date!" Ishimaru retorted, blushing, "I'm... I'm merely planning a little 'day trip' for the two of us! A-And, I was planning on making it special!"

"So... it's a date."

"It's not a date!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the Naegi/Togami room, a very sleepy Naegi began mumbling in his sleep until he slowly got up from his bed and over to the miniature fridge.

"Urgh... yes, Master..." he mumbled, sifting through the cool fridge before taking out a plastic water bottle, "I will quench your thirst..."

As the SHSL Luckster was gulping down the fresh water, Togami slowly woke up to the slight noise. Lifting up his fancy violet sleeping mask from his eyes, he saw Naegi wiping a few drops of water from his mouth before capping the bottle.

"Naegi...?" Togami yawned, "What are you doing up? It's nearly two in the morning..."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, Togami-kun. My ahoge said it was thirsty, so I had to obey it and get it a drink."

"......Little boys need their rest; go back to your bed this instant."

"Yes, Togami-kun..."

But, once Naegi fell back asleep into his bed again, Togami was disturbed from his sleep once again; this time by the loud commotion coming from the Ishimaru/Kuwata room next door. Growling, Togami tried to block out the noise by clasping his pillow over his ears, only for the attempt to wind up being futile.

* * *

"It's not a date!" Ishimaru objected.

"Is too, Ishi~" Leon retorted.

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is not."

" _IS TOO_! ...Darn it!"

At that moment, their hotel phone began ringing, which startled Ruby enough to make her wake up and run from her bed. Leon quickly caught her and tried rubbing her back to make the whimpering dog calm down.

"It's okay, Rubes," Leon assured her, "It's just the phone. Now try and go back to bed."

"Hello?" Ishimaru asked, answering the phone.

"Will you two keep your incessant sexual tension down?!" Togami snapped over the phone, "Naegi and I are trying to sleep!"

Once the cranky Heir hung the phone up, Ishimaru and Leon merely stared at each other with flabbergasted looks while turning quite rosy in the face. Clearing their throats, they quickly looked away from each other before things got too odd.

"Ah... G'night, Ishimaru!" Leon squeaked before hopping back into bed, "Good luck on your date tomorrow!"

"It's not a-- oh, forget it..." Ishimaru sighed, climbing back into his own bed, "Good night, Kuwata-kun."

* * *

The next morning, Ishimaru had his alarm set for 7 o'clock, which had woken up both Leon and Ruby from their slumbers. When the Papillon began howling at the noise, she finally stopped when Ishimaru turned off his alarm and left for the shower. Once his well-toned and muscular body was clean and his hair washed, conditioned and dried, Ishimaru came out of the bathroom fully-clothed. The outfit he was wearing consisted of a white collared shirt and red vest underneath a navy blue jacket, some khaki pants, and a pair of black shoes. Despite it not being his usual white uniform, Ishimaru still donned his trademark "Public Morals" armband on his left arm.

"Alright!" Ishimaru said to himself, "I'm going to do it! Well, here I go!"

After closing and locking the hotel room door, he made his way over to the Enoshima/Ikusaba room and knocked on the door a few times. After a few minutes, the door was answered by Mukuro, who was wearing a black tank top and baggy camoflauge pants for pajamas.

"Ishimaru-kun?" she asked, "Umm... good morning."

"Good morning, Ikusaba-kun!" he greeted, "Erm, I was just wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Ikusaba-kun, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on some sort of outing around Paris?"

"An... outing? Are you insinuating some sort of date?"

"N-No no! ...Well, maybe. But only if you're comfortable with referring to it as such. So, what do you say?"

Mukuro looked away for a minute, trying to decide on what to do. Ishimaru asking such a request only proved Junko's statement that he liked her true, and while the Soldier was a bit flattered by it, she was also very surprised to meet someone that could actually feel romantic attraction towards her.

"Give me a little bit," Mukuro told him, "I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Really?" Ishimaru wondered, blushing, "Okay then! I shall wait for you!"

Once Ishimaru headed towards the elevator with excitement, Mukuro went back inside and picked out an outfit before heading into the shower. After she was clean and dried, she came out of the bathroom wearing a cyan T-shirt underneath a violet zip hoodie, dark blue capris, and black sandals. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to head to the elevator when--

"Goin' somewhere, Mu-chan?" Junko asked, waking up.

"Y-Yes, Junko-chan," Mukuro said, "Ishimaru-kun invited me to go see the city."

"Oh, so that nerd finally grew some balls and asked you out~?"

"I-It's not a date, Junko! ...I mean, I'm not quite sure if it is. I'm aware that he has... romantic feelings for me, but--"

"Ugh, your dating cluelessness can be so despairing. Look, if ya like the guy, then tell him. If not, turn him down. It's not that hard, Big Sis."

"But, if I wind up turning him down, won't that hurt his feelings?"

"Then that's his fault for havin' the crush. Now, go on your little date, and don't screw things up like you normally do! Bon chance~!"

Leaving the room and locking it from the outside, Mukuro made her way into the elevator that eventually took her down to the lobby, where a nervous and red-faced Ishimaru was waiting for her. He examined her for a few seconds before clearing his throat and speaking.

"You look lovely," Ishimaru told her.

"...Thanks, you too," Mukuro responded, "Where did you say we were going?"

"Well, I was planning a stroll down a road called 'Les Champs Elysées'. I heard it's close to the Arc of Triomphe."

"Then let's go."

Exiting the hotel, the two began strolling towards Les Champs Elysées together. As the approached the large avenue, Ishimaru kept finding himself staring at Mukuro with a lovestruck gaze and a blush, only to look away quickly once she had looked at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked, "Your face is red."

"Uhh, y-yes!" he squeaked, still blushing, "Perhaps I'm just coming down with a mild fever is all!"

"Then I'll take you back to the hotel."

"It's not a bad fever! I'll be fine, honest!"

There were plenty of shops on Les Champs Elysées, so the two decided to check one of them out. It was a shop that sold plenty of trinkets and several types of different accessories. Seeing the usual indifferent expression on Mukuro's face, Ishimaru quickly looked around to try and think of something. Just then, he saw a beautiful gray headband decorated with rose quartz hearts and a red lily also centered with a small rose quartz stone.

"Umm... c'est combien?" Ishimaru asked the cashier, holding the headband.

"Huit Euros, monsieur," the cashier responded.

"Merci!" Ishimaru told him, giving him the payment before walking over to Mukuro. "Ikusaba-kun, I got this for you."

"Thanks," she said nonchalantly, putting the headband in her hair, "But, you didn't need to waste your money. You really should have just asked me to pay for it."

"Nonsense! I wanted to get this for you. I heard you favor pretty hair accessories, and I think you look lovely in that."

"Thank you, Ishimaru-kun. Are we still going to L'arc du Triomphe? I wouldn't want to be in an accessory shop all day."

"Erm, y-yes! Let's go!"

Exiting the shop with Mukuro, Ishimaru began walking beside her down Les Champs Elysées once again. As they walked further down the lengthy French avenue, the SHSL Soldier was still rather unsure about how she felt about Ishimaru and how she felt about being the object of someone's affections, while the SHSL Hall Monitor still found himself staring at Mukuro lovingly at the same time he was trying not to mess things up. Just then, Ishimaru spotted an ice cream cart a few miles away from L'arc de Triomphe.

"Excusez-moi!" Ishimaru piped up at the vendor, "What flavors are you selling?"

"J'ai le chocolat, la menthe, la vanille, le mocaccino--"

"Nous aimerions le mocaccino, s'il vous plait," Mukuro responded.

"Oui, mais c'est le dernier," the vendor told him, handing them the scoop of ice cream. "Quatre Euros, s'il vous plait."

As Ishimaru was about to take out his wallet, he stopped when Mukuro had paid for their ice cream instead. Thanking the vendor in French, she walked off with Ishimaru following behind.

"Ikusaba-kun, I was fine with--"

"I'm fully capable of paying for my own ice cream. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not helpless."

"Y-Yes, I understand that completely. But, I figured since I'm the one taking you into the city, I might as well take care of things."

"You don't need to do that, Ishimaru-kun. I don't want you wasting money on me for no reason."

Mukuro was about to take a lick of the slowly-melting ice cream, when she turned to Ishimaru and handed it to him instead, much to his surprise.

"I paid for it, you eat first," Mukuro told him.

"R-Really? Okay then we shall take turns with licking it!"

The SHSL Soldier took the first lick of the mocha ice cream before the SHSL Hall Monitor took a lick of his own. As they both took their respective licks, they were surprised when they accidentally touched tongues and joined their lips together for a split second. Quickly pulling apart, Ishimaru and Mukuro looked at each other and blinked, all while their faces were turning pink.

"I... I am very sorry!" Ishimaru squeaked.

"N-No, I am!" Mukuro insisted, just as flustered, "L-Let's just keep walking! I can see L'arc de Triomphe up ahead!"

As the two strolled the remaining miles, they finally reached the Arc de Triomphe. Walking closer to the large monument, both the Hall Monitor and the Soldier were equally amazed at the sight of it. Underneath the arc laid the infamous Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier and its eternal flame. Mukuro walked closer to it and gave a firm salute and bow at the grave, Ishimaru doing the same right after her. Then, the two viewed the magnificent sight directly underneath the Arc de Triomphe.

"It's hard to believe that this entire structure has commemorated so many French battles," Ishimaru stated, "To think they spent a total of thirty years to work on and finish it!"

"Indeed," Mukuro agreed, "Jean Chalgrin and Louis-Robert Goust truly have made something remarkable for Napoleon Bonparte. Not to mention, if it wasn't for Goust, L'arc de Triomphe would have never been finished."

Ishimaru was quite amazed at Mukuro's info about the monument, notified by the deep reddish hue beginning to form in his cheeks and face. Clearing his throat, he tried to ignore the growing blush in his cheeks as he directed his attention at the entrance to a set of stairs. Urging Mukuro to follow him, the two began climbing up the lengthy flight of spiral stairs. When Mukuro accidentally tripped, Ishimaru quickly grabbed her hand and helped her up, a gesture enough to make the Soldier turn pink in the cheeks again.

After reaching the top of the spiral staircase, Ishimaru and Mukuro found themselves at the top of L'arc de Triomphe. The view from the height of the monument was exhilarating for the both of them. They both could see the near-entire view of the city, even spotting La Tour Eiffel from a distance. The sun's radiant light also gave the city of Paris a rather elegant glow.

"You know, it's also quite a shame that Emperor Bonaparte never lived to see his commission completed," Mukuro stated, still staring into the distance of the city. "This is arguably the most beautiful thing I've seen."

"I agree," Ishimaru sighed, staring at Mukuro, "You're-- err, I mean, this view of Paris is quite beautiful!" Blushing, Ishimaru shifted his crimson orbs around before speaking, "Umm, d-did you know that the Arc of Triomphe was actually modeled after the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy?"

"No, I didn't know that, actually. That's quite an interesting fact, Ishimaru-kun. How long have you been studying French history?"

"Well, a couple of days. I actually started doing a little research during the plane ride here, and I kept going. After all, Spring Break is no excuse to cease studying!"

Mukuro chuckled a bit with a light smile at Ishimaru's statement, but quickly switched back to her stoic demeanor in case he heard anything. However, the sound of her laugh did make him smile and blush a bit.

"You have a nice laugh," he complimented.

"Thanks, but it's just a laugh," she insisted flatly, "There's nothing 'nice' about it."

"But..."

"No 'buts', okay?"

Deciding to drop the discussion, Ishimaru took a deep breath as his heart began racing and his face turned bright red. He figured that now would be a good time to finally tell Mukuro how he felt about her, unaware that she already knew. The SHSL Hall Monitor also prepared himself for the potential rejection he could receive. But, when he opened his mouth to speak, Mukuro had spoken instead.

"Ishimaru-kun, permission to ask a question?" Mukuro wondered.

"P-Permission granted," Ishimaru answered, "Though, you really don't need my permission to--"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I mean, most people tend to be afraid of me because I'm the SHSL Soldier, or otherwise, they just ignore me or treat me with contempt. But you... you're one of the few people that don't do any of those things."

"What reason would I have to be afraid of you? Not even your Talent would make me see you as some sort of monster! It's quite a shame that people would judge you by your Talent, because by doing that, they don't see the beautiful, intelligent, hard-working girl underneath."

"...Beautiful? Sorry, but you must have me confused with Junko-chan. She's the pretty one, not me..."

"I understand you'd think that because she's the SHSL Fashionista. But to me, there's more to beauty than just looks and excessive make-up, Ikusaba-kun. If you ask my opinion, I actually think you're far more attractive than Enoshima-kun."

Not noticing herself turn bright red in the face, Mukuro was amazed at Ishimaru's words. While he wasn't the first person to see some form of beauty in her, he was the first one to openly say that she was more beautiful than her younger sister with pure genuineness. As Ishimaru took another deep breath, he tried another shot at confessing once again.

"Ikusaba-kun... there's something I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time."

"I know," Mukuro sighed, "Junko-chan told me everything on Sunday."

"Sh-She did?! What exactly did she tell you?"

Taking a deep breath, Mukuro sighed before looking straight at Ishimaru and summoning her willpower to speak.

"Ishimaru-kun," she began, "Junko-chan told me... you've harbored romantic feelings for me, and that I was the only one in the class who didn't see it."

With his eyes still widened with shock, Ishimaru stared at the ground with almost nothing on his mind to say. After all, his longtime crush had already known about it, so what could he do now? Looking back up, he focused his gaze on the city view.

"...I'm so sorry, Ikusaba-kun," he apologized, "I do indeed have a crush on you, but I'm willing to accept rejection if you don't reciprocate my feelings! I'm perfectly fine with being friends if--"

Ishimaru's sentence was cut off by Mukuro placing a gentle hand on top of his. He could honestly feel a deep blush rising up to the top of his face. When the Soldier had made eye contact with him, her steel blue eyes had a warmer glow to them in place of her usual icy and stoic gaze.

"This isn't a rejection," Mukuro told him, blushing a bit herself, "I mean, I'm not quite sure about how I feel about you, but in a way, I do indeed like you as well."

"Y-You do?!" Ishimaru squeaked, turning a brighter shade of crimson than his eyes, "Do you really mean that?!"

"Yes. But, I recommend we'll have to wait and see, okay?"

"O-Okay then. Umm, do you know any French?"

"Well, yes. I've been fluent in it since my time in Fenrir. Why do you ask?"

"I'd like for you to teach me some, if that's alright with you."

"I'm okay with it. Let's begin with basics."

Both students averted their attention from the beautiful view of Paris to each other. Although they were making full eye contact with each other, such a thing was enough to make both of them turn rosy in the cheeks. For a split second, both of their gazes turned rather... loving, until they both had to shift to a more serious look.

"Alright. First, let's see what you already know," Mukuro stated before clearing her throat. "Comment tu t'appelle?"

"Umm... je m'appelle Kiyotaka Ishimaru," Ishimaru answered, "Et tu?"

"Je m'appelle Mukuro Ikusaba. Comment ça va?"

"Pas mal."

* * *

 When an hour and a half had passed, it was now 10:15 am. By then, Mukuro had taught Ishimaru some new French vocabulary such as holidays, school subjects, time, and even verbs. Before speaking, Mukuro bit her lip with nervousness while debating whether or not she should ask this question, and how Ishimaru would react.

"I-Ishimaru-kun?" she asked.

"Yes, Ikusaba-kun?" he wondered.

"H-Here's a new sentence in French. This time, I'm going to use a demonstration for its definition. A-And, you're going to need to close your eyes for this one."

"Okay, ask away, Ikusaba-sensei!"

 _"Hmm, Ikusaba-sensei... I kinda like the sound of that,"_ Mukuro thought before regaining focus. "Ahem, puis-je vous embrasser?"

"Umm... oui, tu peux," Ishimaru agreed, unaware of the last word.

With that, Mukuro pressed her lips against Ishimaru's, making his eyes fly open and his entire face turn bright red. Although he leaned forward to briefly return the kiss, the Hall Monitor promptly fainted almost immediately after him and the Soldier pulled their lips apart.

"Ishimaru-kun!" Mukuro yelped, shaking him, "Are you alright?"

All Ishimaru could do was let out an unintelligible moan as a response, for his brain was rather dysfunctional at the moment. Sighing, Mukuro picked him up and slung him over her shoulder with ease as she carried him back to the bottom of the Arc de Triomphe. Once she found the closest bus stop, she boarded the bus (with a still-unconscious Ishimaru resting his head on her shoulder) until it took her back to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Carrying a groggy Ishimaru over her shoulder back into the hotel and the elevator, Mukuro finally reached the 3rd floor. When she reached the Ishimaru/Kuwata room, Ishimaru slowly woke up and wriggled himself off of Mukuro.

"What... what happened?" Ishimaru asked, a bit disoriented.

"Umm, I was teaching you a bit of French, and you fainted because... you overheated!" Mukuro lied, blushing, "Yeah, overheated."

"R-Right, overheated..." Ishimaru repeated, before touching his lips upon remembering the whole story, "B-Because you kissed me!"

"Damn it... Y-Yes, and I apologize for it. It was unjust of me to do that."

"Umm, n-no, it's okay! It was actually... rather nice."

"Really?"

"Y-Yes. In fact, perhaps you'd like to join me on another 'outing' sometime before we go home?"

"Heh, it's a date. I'll see you then, Ishimaru-kun."

Once Ishimaru seemingly went back into his and Leon's room, Mukuro was about to head back to her's and Junko's when Ishimaru opened his door again and grabbed Mukuro by the hand, urging her to come into the room for a bit. When she did, she was surprised when a flustered Ishimaru kissed her on the lips, causing her to unconsciously kiss him back before pulling apart.

"Uh... uhh..." Mukuro uttered, blushing.

"I thought I would return the favor," Ishimaru told her, blushing himself, "S-Sorry about that."

"No, it's okay. I liked it. S-So... I'll see you some other time, Ishimaru-kun."

"You're free to call me 'Taka' if you'd like."

"Very well then. I'll see you another time, Taka."

After leaving an amorous and heavily blushing Ishimaru behind, Mukuro returned to her own room with a small smile and a blush of her own. Sliding the key card into the slot, she opened the door to Junko applying some "Chic Red" French lipstick in the mirror when she heard her older sister come in.

"So, how'd the date go, Mukuro-chan?" Junko asked.

"It wasn't a-- ...Actually, it went rather well; thank you for asking," Mukuro responded, blush starting to turn more mild.

"Judging by your expression, I'd say you like him back. Eh, it's about time the loser finally got a girlfriend. Still kinda bobbles my mind on why he'd fall for such a homely girl like you, Mu-chan!"

"That I still wonder myself, Junko-chan," Mukuro agreed. "But, Taka does seem rather nice, so I actually wouldn't mind officially going out with him one day."

"...Taka?" Junko wondered, confused, "What kind of a nickname is that?"

Not listening to Junko, Mukuro was currently focusing her attention on the rose quartz lily headband Ishimaru had bought for her. As another blush came across her freckled face, the SHSL Soldier could feel her heart race inside of her chest the more she thought about how great her morning was.


	10. Palais du "Ludenberg"

Later that afternoon, Celestia and Yamada were sitting on a bus that had begun to move away from Saint-Germain-des-Prés. However, the only one aware of their surroundings was Yamada, since Celes' blood-red eyes were completely covered by a silk blindfold. The only thing the SHSL Gambler could sense was the chatter of the Parisian citizens sharing the bus ride with them.

"Yamada-kun, please tell me where we're going," She told him.

"That is a surprise, Celes-dono!" Yamada responded, "If I told you, it would no longer be a surprise."

"Oh, alright. But it had _better_ be somewhere promising! After all, I'd expect nothing less from a city as sophisticated as Paris!"

Once the bus came to a complete stop, Yamada guided Celes off of the bus and onto the street, watching the bus go its own way. Guiding the blindfolded Gambler by a delicate hand hold, Yamada began walking towards their destination.

"Are we there yet, Yamada-kun?" Celes asked.

"Not yet, my lady!" Yamada told her, "But, we shall arrive soon; I promise!"

Eventually, the duo reached their destination, prompting the SHSL Doujin Author to remove the blindfold from the SHSL Gambler's eyes. As soon as she regained her vision, Celes' scarlet eyes widened with awe at the sight of Jardin du Luxembourg, its radiant and lush beauty emphasized by the day's delicate sunlight and the grand elegance of the Palace.

"Yamada-kun..." She breathed, "I, I don't know what to say! This is gorgeous!"

"Well, it's only natural that I would take you somewhere fit for a princess, right?" Yamada asked.

"I-Indeed... Nonetheless, let's go on ahead."

The two strolled through the luxorious gardens, gazing at the exquisite French flowers and children playing with miniature boats by the moat in front of the palace. There were even a few kids playing with little toy cars while staying in close range with their parents. As Celes walked beside Yamada with her fancy black gothic parasol, one stray toy car rolled up against one of her ruby Mary Janes.

"Desolée, madame!" the girl apologized, grabbing her toy car before looking up at Celes with wonder. "...Tu es une princesse?"

"Umm... oui, je m'appelle Princesse Celestia Ludenberg," Celes lied with a smile.

"Ouah! Une princesse!" The little girl then turned to Yamada, "Tu as sa fiancé? Sa prince Charmant?"

"F-Fiancé?!" Yamada squeaked, blushing a bit, "Well, umm..."

"Jacqueline!" Her mother cried out, "Allons!"

"Oui, approche, Mama!" She responded, looking at Celes and Yamada with wonder before grabbing her toy car and leaving.

"Hmm, children are quite peculiar," Celes remarked, walking off with Yamada following.

Strolling further on the path in Jardin du Luxembourg, Celes' attention quickly diverted to the nearby palace. Tugging on Yamada's sleeve, she got the Doujin Author to look in the same direction.

"Come, we're going there," Celes told him.

"The Luxembourg Palace?!" Yamada exclaimed, surprised, "Err, Celestia-dono, you do realize that it's not--"

"I said we're going there, Yamada-kun. Unless, you'd instead like a rather _unpleasant_ debate about it?"

"N-Not at all, my lady! Let's go!"

Walking on the path that lead to their next destination, the two finally reached Palais du Luxembourg. Upon entering the building, they were almost immediately confronted by an official.

"Arrêter!" he called out, putting a firm open palm in front of them, "Qui êtes-vous?"

"Umm, well... Sir!" Yamada piped up, "We are--"

"Je m'appelle Celestia Ludenberg, Princesse Napoléon," Celes lied with a calm face.

"Princesse Napoléon?" the official questioned.

"Oui. Mon père s'appelle Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon," Celes told him with her usual smile of deception, "Tu le connais?"

"Ah, oui oui! Desolée, Votre Altesse!"

"Tout va bien. Mon fiancé et moi doit aller maintenant, non?"

"Oui, aller! Jouissez!"

As the official gave a respectful bow, Celes and a flustered Yamada continued further into the building. The SHSL Gambler was rather amazed at what she was seeing; the ceiling had depicted several paintings of different people and figures, and there were even a few fancy marble statues.

"Ah, simply marvelous~!" Celes chirped, "I could truly learn to love this palace!"

"Umm, Celestia-dono," Yamada tried to tell her, "I don't think--"

"Ugh, not now, Yamada-kun! Can't you see I'm busy admiring the view of my future home?"

"But, my lady--"

" _I SAID NOT NOW, YOU SWINE_!"

At the sight of Celestia's threatening finger blade, Yamada decided that it was best to keep his mouth shut for now. Once Celes had finally calmed down, she continued to stroll with Yamada to see the rest of Palais du Luxembourg. Upon noticing a fancy chair that resembled a throne, Celes immediately took a seat, ignoring the clear sign that it was off limits.

"Yamada-kun, would you please be a dear and take a photo?" she asked.

"Erm, y-yes, ma'am!" Yamada confirmed, taking out his pink camera and snapping a photo.

When Celes had finished making different poses in the chair, she finally got up and walked towards the room's exit with Yamada following. But, she had accidentally bumped into another French official.

"Ah! Qui êtes-vous?!" he demanded.

"I guess you didn't get the memo," Celes muttered before speaking up, "Je suis Celestia Ludenberg, Princesse Napoléon. AKA, la fille de Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon."

"Princesse Napoléon?" the official wondered, "Attendre--"

Not letting the official finish his sentence, Celes and Yamada strolled off onto another part of Palais du Luxembourg. They both noticed a large door, which only seduced Celestia into opening it in hopes of seeing a large ballroom or even a fancy kitchen. But instead, the SHSL Gambler was greeted by a large senate room full of French senators and politicians.

"...Hmm," she pondered, "This must be some kind of 'new age royalty' or something."

"Celestia-dono!" Yamada cried out, "I'm trying to tell you that--"

"Mes fidèles sujets!" Celes exclaimed into the microphone at the front, ignoring the SHSL Doujin Author completely, "Bonjour! Je suis votre princesse! Celestia Ludenberg, Princesse Napoléon!"

"Notre princesse?" Some of the senators wondered.

"Madame," Another senator told her, "Tu n'es pas notre princesse. En fait, La France n'a pas une 'Princesse Napoléon'."

"Mais, je--"

"Non, tais-toi. Ta ID, s'il vous plait?"

Hesitantly, Celes pulled her Hope's Peak ID out from one of her dress pockets. Examining the card, the head official nodded before speaking.

"Alors, tu t'appelle 'Taeko Yasuhiro', non? Ta nom n'est pas Celestia Ludenberg tout..."

Twitching at the sentence, the SHSL Gambler could feel her usual poker face cracking away as her hidden rage began rising to the top again before it finally errupted. When it did, Celestia fiercely grabbed the official by the collar and held her bladed finger close to his terrified face.

"Oh, here we go..." Yamada groaned to himself, "Celes-dono's inner dynamite has once again exploded!"

"Écouter!" she roared, "My name is, was, and always will be Celestia Ludenberg. _DO YOU HEAR ME_?! 'Taeko Yasuhiro' is nothing but a non-existent **loser**! I am Celestia Ludenberg! Je suis Celestia Ludenberg! JE M'APPELLE CELESTIA LUDENBERG!" Ce-Les-Ti-A **LUDENBERG**!"

"S-Sécurité!" the official cried out, scared out of his mind.

Just then, two burly security came into the room, grabbed a mortified Yamada along with a furious Celestia, and dragged them across the building until they were thrown outside onto the ground for good. Rubbing her head, Celes' rage was starting to melt away as she regained her usual poker face.

"Well, that was quite a fiasco," she said simply, opening up her black parasol again, "Yamada-kun, what was it you were trying to tell me earlier?"

"You mean other than the fact that the Luxembourg Palace is no longer a royal palace?" Yamada wondered as he and Celes began walking again.

"...Ah. You know, if you had simply spat it out earlier, this whole thing could have been avoided-- A... Achoo!"

"Bless you, my lady! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Celes sniffled, "Just take me back to the hotel already. I've had a long-- ACHOO! A long day!" Her steps then became a bit wobbly before regaining her balance, "Not to mention, I'm starting to feel a little dizzy..."

When the two finally reached the bus stop and eventually boarded the bus, Celes found herself starting to get dizzy again in addition to becoming rather sweaty. So as not to worry Yamada, she merely kept brushing it off as the bus approached Hotel Le Sénat. After reaching their floor, Yamada knocked on the Kirigiri/Ludenberg door and waited for Kirigiri to take the weary Celestia inside before going back into his own room.

"Didja have a good time, Yamada-chi?" Hagakure asked.

"Well, we certainly went somewhere..." Yamada sighed before perking up upon realizing something. "Hagakure Yasuhiro-dono! Y-Your prediction!"

"What about it?"

"How did I not see it before?! It came true!"

What, it did?! How so, man?"

"Everything you said! The gardens, the beautiful building, and a misunderstanding that leads to a series of crazy events! Perhaps you truly are an augur! Unless of course, you're secretly a Diary Holder!"

"A what? What the heck's a 'Diary Holder', Yamada-chi?"

"Ah, nevermind..." Yamada told him before sitting down on his bed again.


	11. Bastille My Beating Heart!

"Oh, Kirigiri-san?" Celes asked from her bed as she handed Kirigiri the damp ice pack, "Be a dear and put this ice pack in the fridge. It's gotten far too warm."

"Ugh, yes, Celes-san..." Kirigiri groaned, taking the melted ice pack from the Gambler.

"Also, please-- _ACHOO_! Fluff up my pillow a little bit, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Celestia..." Kirigiri hissed through gritted teeth, fluffing the pillow. "How did you even get sick in the first place?"

"That I still don't know. But I must say; while you're not exactly a male vampire, I certainly wouldn't mind having you in my servant harem the day I get my castle."

Rolling her eyes while concealing a blush, Kirigiri sat back down onto her bed. She had been catering to Celes' whim ever since she had returned from the Luxembourg Gardens, and it was now almost 6:00 in the evening. Reaching into her bag, the SHSL Detective pulled out "A Study In Scarlet" and opened it to where she left off once she laid down on her bed.

"Kirigiri-san, I'm feeling rather parched," Celes told her with a clap, "Please fetch me some royal milk tea."

"I'll get you the milk tea when I finish this chapter," Kirigiri responded, not averting her lavender orbs away from the pages once.

"Hmm... 'A Study In Scarlet'? I figured you'd be a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's works. Although, it's quite a shame on what happens to Hope at the end of that book."

Looking up from her book and turning to the sly Gambler with the utmost irritated look, Kirigiri shut her novel and headed for the door to retrieve the necessary milk needed for her pushy roommate's drink.

"Make sure you make it in my exact preference~," Celes chirped as Kirigiri left the room.

Leaving the room, Kirigiri walked to the elevator and descended down to the hotel's dining area. Once she had acquired a cup of Celes' favorite milk tea, she carefully walked back towards the elevator and up to the third floor, where she was surprised to run into Naegi.

"Ah, there you are, Kirigiri-san!" he exclaimed, "I was looking for you, but Celes-san told me you went out."

"No, I just went to get her her stupid milk tea is all," Kirigiri sighed, "Did you want to ask me something, Naegi-kun?"

"Y-Yeah! I was wondering if tonight, we could go out somewhere? I heard there's a place called the 'Opéra Bastille' nearby, and I bought two tickets for a performance if you'd like to go with me."

"Umm..." Kirigiri's mind then went to the sick Celes, whose royal milk tea she was still holding in her gloved hands.

"It's fine if you're busy; It's just an offer, so I understand if you don't want to--"

"I'm not busy; let's go."

"What, really? O-Okay then, I'll wait for you to get ready."

Walking into her hotel room, Kirigiri handed Celes the royal milk tea. Taking a small sip of it, Celestia made a small "Hmm" sound before taking another sip and placing the cup on hers and Kirigiri's nightstand.

"It's not bad," she remarked, "Certainly not my usual brand of milk tea, but also not bad."

"Good, because I'm heading out for the evening," Kirigiri said, retrieving her wallet from her suitcase.

"Is that so? Then who's going to take care of me? You wouldn't leave a poor sickly young lady all alone, would you, my dear?" she asked with pursed lips.

"Which is why Hagakure-kun and Yamada-kun are going to take turns coming in here to look after and take care of you."

"What?! Well, Yamada-kun I really don't mind, but why on Earth are you entrusting me with that sham of a fortune teller?!"

"Take it or leave it, Celestia; your choice. I'll be back later."

Kirigiri opened the door to leave the room, letting Hagakure in before walking out. Once the SHSL Fortune Teller sat on Kirigiri's bed next to her stuff, he had the same reluctant expression on his face as Celes did.

"Is Yamada-kun not coming?" Celes asked.

"No, he is," Hagakure answered, "I just lost a game of rock-paper-scissors, and I got stuck with the first shift."

"Oh, joy..."

"Hey, I'm about as happy about this as you are. So for the next hour, Ludenberg-chi, just try to suck it up."

"Very well then. For my first order of business, fetch me an ice pack; my fever's starting to come back."

* * *

Meanwhile with Naegi and Kirigiri, the two were walking out of the hotel and into Saint-Germain-des-Prés' metro station. Once their tickets were purchased and punched, they descended down to the station and eventually boarded the metro train that began carrying them to the spot closest to their destination. When they stopped, the two left the station and headed towards Opéra Bastille.

"So, what are we seeing, Naegi-kun?" Kirigiri asked.

"Umm..." Naegi pondered, looking at the two tickets, "We're going to see something called 'La Traviata'."

"Hmm, sounds fun."

Approaching the ticket booth in the front of the building, the SHSL Luckster handed the person his and Kirigiri's tickets before entering inside with his date. Kirigiri took an offered playbill before she followed Naegi to their seats. When Naegi sat down, the SHSL Detective felt a blush come to her cheeks as she meekly sat down next to him.

"Are you alright, Kirigiri-san?" Naegi asked.

"I-I'm fine, Naegi-kun," Kirigiri told him, turning away to make sure Naegi doesn't see her blush.

"Want me to get you some water?"

"N-No, I said I'm fine. See, look; the show's about to start soon."

"Okay... umm, what's the playbill say about the show?"

"Well, it's apparently about a courtesan named Violetta Valéry who falls in love with a guy named Alfredo. Afterwards, her life begins to go downhill just when she thinks she's found happiness."

"O-Oh! Uhh, sounds interesting."

Less than a few minutes later after the rest of the audience filled the gigantic opera chamber, the lights began to dim as the opera had begun. Since neither of them spoke French, both Naegi and Kirigiri had to focus on the nearby Japanese translation text box flashing near the stage. At first, the SHSL Detective hadn't shown much interest in the early scenes of Act 1, while the SHSL Luckster was trying to understand the plot a little better.

As Act 2 progressed later though, Kirigiri started to become more invested in the opera a lot more. Though she wasn't really a fan of love songs, she did seem to find the scene around it fairly interesting.

"She truly does love him..." she said to herself before glancing at Naegi for a brief moment with a blush.

However, her amazement would later turn to worry at seeing Violetta's misfortune and rather tragic mutual love for Alfredo. At the beginning of Act 3, Naegi was invested in the opera until he heard a few sniffles coming from his left. Turning his head, he found that the sniffles were coming from Kirigiri.

"Are you alright, Kirigiri-san?" Naegi whispered.

"I'm fine, Naegi-kun," Kirigiri sniffled, wiping her tears with a gloved hand, "This opera's just a bit emotional is all."

"Do you need anything? Uhh, here; have a tissue."

"Th-Thanks..."

Drying her tears with the tissue before blowing her nose into it, Kirigiri continued to watch the rest of the opera until it had eventually concluded as Violetta ultimately passed on in Alfredo's arms. As Naegi and Kirigiri stood up with the audience to applaud, the former noticed the latter's lavender eyes still had a few tears streaming from them.

* * *

When the two went to a local café in Place de la Bastille, Naegi noticed that Kirigiri was acting rather distant with him. At the same time, the SHSL Detective seemed rather forlorn about something.

"Kirigiri-san," Naegi said, "What's wrong? You've been kinda... down since the show finished."

"...Naegi-kun, I've been thinking," Kirigiri sighed, "If, hypothetically, we were to form an official romantic relationship, would it work out?"

"Eh?! Umm, wh-what makes you ask that?" Naegi squeaked, face turning rather rosy.

"Well, in the opera, Violetta and Alfredo seemed happy together, but then everything went downhill for both of them when they became lovers. I mean, I know we're not... 'official', but I just can't help but wonder."

"Kirigiri-san, it was just an opera. B-Besides, I'm sure if we were to start a relationship, it wouldn't end like that. After all, we wouldn't know unless we try, right?"

By the time their waiter came to their table with a cup of espresso and shrimp bisque (Kirigiri's order) along with some sparkling water and some steak frites (Naegi's order), both students had their eyes averted from each other with intense blushes.

"So... you wouldn't mind starting something?" Kirigiri asked.

"N-No, not at all. That is, if it's alright with you."

"It's alright with me. After all, I do like you as well..."

Smiling, Naegi began eating his dinner as Kirigiri began eating hers. At around 10:15 that night, both students were strolling back to the metro station. Just then, Kirigiri's mind flashed to a certain place in Paris she had heard about before; a place she had wanted to investigate for the first time. However, she decided to save the thought for another day when she and Naegi eventually boarded the metro train back to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

When they both arrived on the third floor of Hotel Le Sénat, Kirigiri planted a kiss on Naegi's cheek before heading back to her room, making the SHSL Luckster blush furiously with a smile.

"Amami, Makoto, amami quant'io t'amo," she quoted from the opera.

"Y-You too, Kyouko," he sighed, not quite remembering what the quote meant.

As Kirigiri opened the door, her amorous content quickly shifted to mild confusion as she saw Yamada and Hagakure; both dressed as vampire butlers and tending to Celes.

"...Need I ask what's going on?" Kirigiri wondered.

"Need not," Celes told her, "My servants are merely tending to my every whim as they've been doing since you went out with Naegi-kun. In fact, I'm actually starting to feel a bit better!"

"Does that mean we can go now, Celestia-dono?" Yamada asked.

"Only when I _say_ to two can go, Yamada-kun. Now hush, these nails aren't going to repaint themselves~."

"You two are free to go," Kirigiri told the boys, opening the door.

"Ah, thank you, Kirigiri-chi!" Hagakure cried out, quickly fleeing the room with Yamada.

"Hmph, someone's being a bit of a killjoy," Celes remarked. "How was your 'night on the town' with Naegi-kun?"

"...It was fun," Kirigiri answered with a small smile and a blush, "How was your night of pampering?"

"Well, it _was_ fun until you returned," Celes responded, looking at the red rose given to her by Yamada sitting in a slender glass vase on the nightstand, "At least my illness is starting to subside. Who'd have thought that 'Paris Syndrome' was a real thing?"

"Glad you had fun as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go take a shower and go to bed."

Gathering her pajamas and toiletries, Kirigiri left her bedside in favor of the hotel room's bathroom and locked the door behind her once she had entered.


	12. Freestyle Tours on La Seine!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know Sakura's character or relationship with Kenichirou that well. So if it's kinda iffy, that's why.

The following day at around 12:30, Asahina and Sakura were stepping off of a city bus that took them to a place close to Notre Dame de Paris. Taking a few glances at the majestic Gothic cathedral, the girls began walking towards their real destination: The docks of the tour boat rides for La Seine.

"Here we are, Asahina," Sakura told her, walking to the tour boat entrance.

"Yay, the Seine River!" Asahina cheered, before lowering her voice to prevent Sakura from hearing her next words. "Today's the day I make the biggest achievement in swimming history!"

Once both of them paid the necessary fee, they boarded the tour boat as it soon set sail afterwards. As the boat kept passing through several Parisian buildings and artifacts over the course of nearly twenty minutes, many of the passengers began taking pictures; among them Sakura with her digital camera. Unbeknownst to the SHSL Fighter, however, Asahina was already commencing her "big achievement".

"Ah, isn't this nice, Asahina?" Sakura asked before getting no response. "...Asahina?"

Her attention quickly turned to the aforementioned SHSL Swimmer, whose clothes were already completely off and revealing her dark blue one-piece bathing suit. But, before the determined Aoi could jump into the Seine River, Sakura quickly grabbed her by the straps and pulled her back into the tour boat with no hassle.

"Sakura-chan!" she wailed, "I need to swim in this river!"

"Asahina, I said no," Sakura said, "A river is much different than a pool or ocean. Besides, it could lead to trouble."

"Come on! This could be the greatest swim in swimming history!"

Unfortunately, Sakura refused to comply with Asahina, so the latter was forced to put her clothes back on and sit back down, ignoring the stares and murmurs of everyone else on the boat. For now, the Swimmer decided to enjoy the sights of Paris with her dear friend as they both began sailing past the Eiffel Tower. Just then, Asahina felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Taking it out, she discovered she had received a text from Hagakure.

"What does it say?" Sakura asked.

"It says 'Y/N: U, me, a nice spot in Paris l8r or 2morrow? <3'," Asahina answered.

"Did Hagakure ask you something? What's your answer?"

"Hmm... 'Yes, let's go l8r 2day. ^w^' Yeah, he just asked if I wanted to go somewhere with him."

"Ah, it sounds like you've got a date with Hagakure," Sakura chuckled lightly before sighing forlornly. "It kind of makes me wish Kenichirou was still alive..."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan! After all, Kenichirou-kun's in a better place, isn't he?"

"Yes, but I never got to visit him more than once before he... departed."

"Well, that doesn't make you bad! Besides, I'm sure Kenichirou didn't hold any grudge against you for that. He knew how much you loved him, and that's all that matters!"

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course! It only makes sense."

"...Thank you, Asahina. I'm very grateful to have someone like you as a friend."

For the remaining thirty-five minutes of the boat ride, Asahina and Sakura had a few conversations with each other while enjoying the sights of Paris. When the boat returned to its original dock near Notre Dame, Sakura walked off as Asahina stepped onto the dock right after.

"Well, that was a nice boat ride--" Sakura began before hearing a _SPLASH_. Turning around, she saw people looking at an excited Aoi swimming down La Seine freestyle after leaving behind a pile of her clothes.

"I'll meet you back at the hotel, Sakura-chan! Right now, I'm making history!" Asahina called from ahead, "See you later!"

"Aoi..." Sakura sighed to herself with a tone of humor, "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

Later, as Sakura was heading into the hotel room labeled "Oogami/Asahina" with her roommate and best friend's clothes, she saw the elevator open and reveal a soaking wet Aoi Asahina in her dark blue one piece.

"Did you have a nice swim?" Sakura asked with a smile as Asahina followed her into the room.

"You bet! I made swimmer history!" Asahina chirped, drying herself off with a bathroom towel. "Got into a little trouble with the cops, but they eventually just let me off with a warning. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some showers to hit!"

Meanwhile, Leon was in his hotel room with Ruby on his lap (Ishimaru was currently on a second date with Mukuro) while looking at his phone. But, he jerked his head up from his pillow when he received a few texts from Hagakure that said "Asahina-chi n I r going somewhere l8r 2day", "Y/N: Double date w/ u n Maizono-chi?", and "If yes u might wanna get a dog sitter 4 Ruby-chi".

Without hesitating, the SHSL Baseball Player texted "Hell yeah! C U l8r, Hiro" and left the room with Ruby. Knocking on the door of the Maizono/Fukawa room, Leon's excitement quickly turned into disappointment as the door was answered by Genocider Syo rather than Sayaka.

"Ah, you must be ol' Ginger Pubes that Saya-chwan told me and Gloomy about," Syo said, "Well, she wasn't kidding when she said you were quite a stud!"

"And _you_ must be the 'other Fukawa', right?" Leon asked, unimpressed. "Wait, Sayaka said I'm a stud~?" he wondered in a perky tone.

"Tch, I may look like Gloomy, but I ain't her! Anyways, why don'tcha scram with that mangy mutt of yours?"

Ruby then bared her teeth and began growling and barking angrily at Syo, prompting Leon to try and console her to no avail. Just then, a toilet flush and the running of water was heard from the bathroom before Sayaka herself had emerged from it. At the sight of the SHSL Idol, Ruby's furious barking changed into happy panting and tail-wagging in Leon's arms.

"Aww, hi, Ruby!" Sayaka chirped, giving the red Papillon a few chin scratches before turning to her owner, "Leon, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Saya-chan!" Leon greeted, "I just came here to ask you if you wanted to join me on a double date?"

"Double date? With who?"

"Well, I heard Hagakure and Asahina're goin' somewhere, and he asked me if a double date was alright. So... whaddya say?"

"Hmm, I'm okay with it! Just give me some time to get ready! Syo-san, maybe we can hang out later?"

"Nah, that's okay, Saya-chwan~!" Syo assured her, "Byakuya-sama just texted Gloomy, and he said something about 'private French lessons'~ You just have fun on your date with Leo-pin, 'k?"

"Okay! I'll see you in a bit, Leon," Sayaka told him before closing the door.

"'Leo-pin'?" Leon wondered to himself, "What kinda nickname is that?" He then turned to Ruby as they began walking to the Oowada/Fujisaki room, "At least I finally get a second chance at a date with Sayaka! Right, Rubes?"

Once Ruby cheerfully yelped as a response, Leon knocked on the room's door and waited for a few seconds until Mondo answered the door.

"Yeah?" he asked before seeing it was Leon and Ruby, "Ah, s'up, Leon? Hey, Ruby~" Mondo then knelt down and gave the Papillon a scratch underneath her chin, making her pant and wag her tail with gusto.

"Hey," Leon greeted back, "Listen, I'm takin' Sayaka on a double date with Hiro and Asahina. Can you watch Ruby 'til I come back?"

"No prob, ya came to the right guy!" Mondo answered, picking Ruby up carefully.

"Good. 'K Ruby, I'm gonna go get your stuff so you can stay here until I come back, 'k?" he asked.

It only took Leon less than five minutes to get Ruby's dog toys; food and water bowl; food, and dog treats and give them to Mondo and Chihiro. With that, he gave Ruby a few light scratches behind her butterfly-shaped ears before bidding her temporary goodbye.

"Be good for Mondo and Chihiro, 'k, Rubes?" Leon asked, receiving a happy yelp from his Papillon as a response. "See you guys later!"


	13. Ménage à Quatre à La Tour Eiffel!

After Ruby was dropped off at the Oowada/Fujisaki room, Leon went into his own bathroom to freshen up. Once he was all ready, he locked the door after leaving the room and headed for Sayaka's room. Knocking on the door again, he was happy to see it be answered by Sayaka herself, who was wearing a knee-length magenta tank top-strap dress with a dark blue sash wrapped around the middle; dark brown heeled sandals, and a platinum bracelet on her right wrist. To top it all off, she was wearing the ruby locket Leon had given her on Monday.

"Ya look great, babe," Leon complimented, blushing.

"Thank you," Sayaka responded.

"So, what's with the picnic basket and blanket?"

"What, this? Oh, Asahina-san just texted me saying we're going to the Eiffel Tower, so I thought it'd be nice to have a little picnic in the park where it is."

"Ah, okay. Whatcha got in there?"

"Just a few things I ordered from room service. Let's see, there's a small fruit and veggie platter with dipping sauce; a bunch of sandwiches, and even a few French pastries!"

"Heh, sounds delicious!"

"And don't worry, Leon. I didn't pack in any cervelle de vache in this bag, so you'll know what you're eating," Sayaka giggled.

"...Let's just get going," an unamused Leon said in a flat tone, taking slight umbrage at the Idol's joke.

Leon and Sayaka then headed towards the elevator, and eventually exited Hotel Le Sénat. After waiting at the bus stop for some time, the two boarded the bus as it took them all the way to a spot close to their destination. Walking over to the park area that has La Tour Eiffel in close range, the Baseball Player and the Idol noticed Hagakure and Asahina waving up ahead and headed in that direction.

"Kuwata-chi, Maizono-chi!" Hagakure called out, "Glad you guys could make it."

"Well, this is a nice place to have a picnic," Sayaka said, laying the large blanket out on the grass before putting the basket of food on top, "I mean, this is one of the most famous landmarks in all of Paris!"

"I'll say," Hagakure breathed, looking at La Tour Eiffel with the others, "Who'd have thought we'd actually be looking at the great Stonehenge, one of the oldest historical structures?!"

"Umm, Hagakure--" Asahina began before being cut off by the Fortune Teller.

"I know, I know, Asahina-chi," he said back, "You're probably askin' 'who do you think built it?'. For all I know, it could have been the ancient Parisian civilians, or even aliens. Either way, the world will never know."

"...Hiro, this is the Eiffel Tower," Leon told him.

"Huh, really? That's weird, Ludenberg-chi told me the other night that Stonehenge had changed over the years."

"No wonder..." Asahina sighed. She then quickly changed the subject by holding up a box of French donuts, "You guys ready to eat?"

"You know it!" Leon exclaimed.

The four of them then took four paper plates and began filling it with a fair amount of food. After some time had passed and a portion of the food from Maizono's picnic basket was gone, the four students were now munching on some Parisian pastries and some of Aoi's French donuts that she had picked up beforehand.

"Y'know, this actually ain't half bad," Leon said, munching on a Mille-feuille.

"The pastry or the trip?" Asahina wondered as she finished a Boston Cream Pie donut before picking up a chocolate éclair.

"Both. I mean, come on! It's Paris!"

"Now, who was it that said 'who'd wanna go on a stupid picnic'~?" Sayaka teased, eating a few macarons.

"Oi, that was back home! It's different if we're picnicking near the Eiffel Tower in _France_!"

"Speaking of which, I heard you can actually go to the top of the entire tower," Hagakure remarked, ingesting a small slice of charlotte, "You guys wanna go up?"

"I'm game!" Asahina agreed, "Let's go!"

Cleaning up their picnic spread, the quartet walked across the park until they had reached the entrance to the Eiffel Tower's top. Unfortunately, the line for the elevator was revoltingly long, so they all had no choice but to go to the slightly shorter line for tickets to climb the stairs instead. Once their tickets were eventually purchased, the four of them began trekking up the lengthy flights of stairs.

"Yeesh, this climb is long as hell..." Hagakure stated.

"Well, it _is_ the Eiffel Tower, Hagakure-kun," Sayaka pointed out, taking a break for a few seconds before climbing again.

"Eh, I've been through more brutal exercises..." Asahina shrugged, "This is nothing!"

"Ditto," Leon agreed, following his friends up the stairs.

After a total of 20 minutes of stair-climbing, the four students finally reached the peak of La Tour Eiffel. Gazing at the extremely high view from the topmost section of the tower, they could all see different sights of the city of Paris from there.

"Man..." Leon remarked, amazed, "Look at this view!"

"I can see almost all of Paris from here!" Sayaka beamed, "It's so beautiful!"

"The city's not the only thing that's beautiful, Saya~,"

"Hee-hee, oh stop, you..."

Not paying much attention to Leon and Sayaka at that moment, Hagakure and Asahina continued to admire the elegant view of Paris from the top of its most infamous landmark together. The quartet had spent hours gazing at the French city from above, taking pictures, playing a few games of "I Spy", telling funny stories, and a bunch of other things until the time had turned to around 5:30 in the afternoon.

"--And that's why Yuta and I are not allowed to set foot in Hokkaido until I'm 21," Asahina concluded.

"Wow, Asahina-san," Sayaka said in surprise, "I didn't think you and your brother would be able to do something like that!"

"I'll say," Hagakure agreed before yawning. "Well guys, I think it's time we get back to the hotel."

"Yeah, we can't stay up here forever," Leon stated, "Plus, I gotta get back to Ruby."

But, as they were all about to head towards the tower's exit, a group of people came up from the elevator. The four Hope's Peak students were about to keep going until one of the citizens noticed Sayaka.

"Mon Dieu!" the person gasped, eyes wide with awe, "C'est Sayaka Maizono!"

"You know this guy, Sayaka?" Leon wondered.

"N-No, I'm afraid not," Sayaka answered.

"Madame Maizono! Mes amis et moi sommes grande admirateurs de ta musique!"

"Maizono?!" another fan gasped, "Oh, la-la! Autographe, s'il vous plait?" They asked, taking out a pen and paper.

"Autographe? Sorry, but my friends and I were about to head back to our hotel, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait until my next concert."

"Non non! Autographe maintenant!" the entire group exclaimed, irritated.

"And this would be the part where we... RUN!" Sayaka shouted, dashing to the Eiffel Tower steps with her classmates.

As the quartet tried to outrun their adversaries, the French fans were on their tail and not too far behind. In fact, a few of them were even trying to snap pictures of Sayaka despite the SHSL Idol trying to run away from them. Once they all finally left the tower, the four Hope's Peak students found themselves running all over the city area trying to evade the rabid Sayaka fans. Soon, the four of them were lucky enough to find an alleyway to hide to throw off the French group.

"Où est-elle?" one of the fans wondered.

"Madame Maizono!" another one called out, "Autographe, s'il vous plait!"

When the group of crazy fans ran off and were out of sight, Hagakure, Asahina, and Leon finally walked out of the alleyway and back onto the streets of France. Before Sayaka emerged herself, she looked back and forth to make sure the fans were gone for good.

"Are they gone?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," Leon assured her, "We lost 'em."

"I think now's a good time to head back," Asahina stated, "It's been a pretty hectic picnic."

"You can say that again..." Hagakure sighed, walking off as his friends started following him.

"Là-bas!" a voice exclaimed from afar, "Madame Maizono, attendre!"

Upon seeing that the fans had found them once again, the quartet didn't hesitate to start running away from them again. Since they weren't too far from a bus stop, they were lucky enough to catch the bus at the last minute and escape the group of fans for good.

* * *

Eventually, they had all been dropped back off at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and headed back into Hotel le Sénat. Once they were on the third floor, Hagakure and Asahina exchanged a few thankful words before heading back into their respective rooms (though there was a visible blush on the Fortune Teller's face when the Swimmer had given him a peck on the cheek beforehand). This had left Leon and Sayaka alone in the corridor at that moment.

"Sorry this date wound up bein' a total bust like the first, Saya..." Leon sighed.

"It wasn't a _total_ bust, Leon!" Sayaka assured him, "Aside from the crazy fans recognizing me, I actually had fun."

"Y-You did?"

"Yeah! It's not every day I get to have a picnic with you guys in Paris of all places!" the Idol's face then began to turn a shade of salmon as she shyly smiled at Leon. "Not to mention... I got to spend some more time with you, Leon."

"H-Hey, ya really mean that?" Leon asked, now blushing himself.

Before answering, Sayaka gave a cute little smirk before giving Leon a deep kiss on the lips that lasted for quite a few seconds. Though the All-Star had kissed back briefly, his mind was still in a pleasurably stupor when his crush had pulled her lips away from him. Licking his lips a little, Leon could taste hints of Sayaka's bubblegum-flavored lip balm.

"Bonsoir, Léon~" Sayaka told him sweetly as she opened her room door.

"Bon new-it, Sayaka-chan..." Leon sighed dreamily.

 _"He's still gotta work on that pronunciation..."_ the SHSL Idol thought in her head before heading back into her room with a content smile.

"I'll never wash these lips again..."a blushing Leon told himself with a smile as he went over to the Oowada/Fujisaki room with the intention of picking up a certain red Papillon.


	14. A Night on the City of Lights

Knocking on Mondo and Chihiro’s door, Leon only had to wait a few seconds for the door to be answered by Chihiro himself. Beside the SHSL Hacker’s feet was none other than Ruby, who started panting and even barking happily while wagging her tail upon seeing her owner return.

“Hey, Ruby!” Leon greeted, giving the Papillon some rubs on the side of her silk-like furry cheeks with both hands, “Were you good for Mondo and Chihiro~?”

“She is pretty lively,” Chihiro added, “Oowada-kun definitely had a blast with her!”

“Thanks for watchin’ Rubes, Chihiro! I really appreciate it!”

“You’re welcome, Leon-kun! Did your date with Maizono-san go well?”

“That it did, thanks for askin’! Well, I’ll be taking Ruby’s stuff back and I’m gonna get back to me and Ishimaru’s room.”

When Chihiro went back into his room for a few seconds, he soon came out with the dog supplies Leon had left with him and Mondo earlier. Once the stuff was transferred from the Hacker’s arms to the Baseball Player’s, the latter of the two returned to his own room with Ruby. Before going back inside the Oowada/Fujisaki room, Chihiro’s mind flashed back to what Mondo had asked him earlier on.

* * *

_"Oi, Chihiro,” Mondo suddenly spoke, scratching Ruby’s back as she laid on the bed._

_“Yes, Oowada-kun?” the SHSL Hacker had responded, not looking away from his in-progress program._

_“Listen, I’ve been thinking. You’re obviously overdue for a break from that fuckin’ computer, s-so…” the Gang Leader’s face began to turn rather rosy as he scratched the back of his head._

_“Oowada-kun? What are you trying to ask me?” Chihiro questioned, turning around from his program with slight confusion._

_“Gah, damn it! D-DO YOU WANNA GO OUT WITH ME TONIGHT?! SEE THE FUCKIN’ SIGHTS?!”_

_Chihiro jumped at the sound of Mondo nervously raising his voice upon asking his question. Not only that, but the loud volume had also startled Ruby as well, for the Papillon had suddenly fled from the nervous pompadour-wearing male’s lap and onto the floor. Mondo had told Chihiro times before that he had a tendency to yell when nervous, especially when it came to asking someone out. Although the Hacker was rather startled because of it, he knew that the Gang Leader had good intentions despite his volume. Before the smaller boy could shyly squeak out an answer, he was relieved to hear the sound of knocks on the door._

* * *

 As Chihiro’s mind returned to the present at the same time he himself went back into the hotel room, the awkwardness had once again permeated the atmosphere when he noticed Mondo looking away from him with a nervous blush on his face.

“Oi, sorry for yellin’ at ya earlier, Fujisaki…” he told the other boy, “Just feel free to say--”

“I-I wouldn’t mind,” Chihiro whispered quietly.

“Huh?” Mondo questioned, not quite hearing Chihiro clearly.

“I-I said I wouldn’t mind, Oowada-kun! In fact, I-I’d love to go with you tonight…!”

Blinking a few times, an amazed Mondo was trying to process Chihiro’s answer. Rather than the refusal or rejection that normally followed his loud, yet very much nervous attempts to ask someone out, he was rather surprised to hear the first ever acceptance of his offer. The 16-year old Gang Leader could feel his face heat up as his blush failed to subside. Clearing his throat, Mondo tried to speak to Chihiro again.

“G-Great, thanks,” he said. “So, whaddya wanna do tonight?”

“I wouldn’t mind going to see the sights of the city,” Chihiro told him with his innocent smile, “After all, what better way to see the ‘City of Lights’ than at night time, right?”

“R-Right. Alright, go ahead an’ get ready while I jump in the shower. Unless, you wanna shower first?”

“No thank you, I already showered earlier today. I’ll be ready when you get out, Oowada-kun!”

* * *

 By the time both of them were completely ready for their night on the City Of Lights, the time was around 7:00 at night. The recently bathed Mondo donned an outfit consisting of a loose white T-shirt underneath an unzipped black jacket (similar to, but not his traditional Crazy Diamonds jacket), dark-colored jeans, a thin studded bracelet, and maroon sneakers. Chihiro’s outfit was a simple lime green blouse, white capris pants, and some black slip-on shoes while also donning a simple hair clip in his shoulder-length caramel-colored hair.

“Ya look nice, Kid,” Mondo complimented.

“Th-Thanks, so do you, Oowada-kun!” Chihiro responded. “Are you ready to go now?”

“Yep, c’mon!”

The two boys then left their hotel room after locking the door. They then headed into the elevator before finally reaching the lobby of Hotel Le Sénat. After leaving the hotel, Chihiro followed Mondo into a motorcycle dealer shop somewhere in the neighborhood where the hotel was.

“Bonsoir!” the owner greeted them, waving. She then took out her notebook looking for a certain name. “Monsieur Oowada?”

“Yep,” Mondo answered, “I’m here ta pick up my rental.”

“Ah, oui oui! Un minute, s’il vous plait.”

Soon, the owner came back with a Kawasaki that Mondo had rented until Friday night. Once the proper payments had been made, he left the shop with Chihiro and a protective motorcycle helmet for the aforementioned Programmer. Once they were outside again, Mondo placed the helmet firmly onto Chihiro’s head and made sure it was on correctly before ushering Chihiro to sit on the motorcycle seat behind his.

“Alright, hang on tight, Kid,” Mondo told him, “The last thing I’d want is for ya to fall off.”

“Ready!” Chihiro confirmed, wrapping his arms around Mondo’s waist tightly.

As soon as Chihiro was secure, Mondo revved the engine a few times before driving off onto the roads of Paris. Although Mondo was driving at a more moderate rate for Chihiro’s sake and the purpose of glimpsing at the sights, he was still going at a fast enough rate to make his auburn pompadour and the part of Chihiro’s caramel-colored hair that wasn’t covered by the helmet blow backwards in the wind.  

Akin to its nickname, the lights of Paris were bright and dazzling, making an obvious note of its radiant beauty. Eventually, the pair had passed over Pont Alexandre III, which was also brightened and elegant in the Parisian night’s atmosphere.

“Oowada-kun, where are we going anyway?” Chihiro asked.

“Somewhere nice,” Mondo answered, “You’ll see.”

Mondo and Chihiro spent the next 17 minutes driving on the streets of Paris until they had finally reached their destination in the form of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Since it was night time, there weren’t as many people at the park, so it wasn’t as rambunctious. Parking the motorcycle in a safe place with Chihiro’s helmet left on the seat, both boys began their stroll into the park. The beautiful Spring moon shone brightly in the night, so it made their surroundings appear even more peaceful and wonderous.

“This is nice, eh?” Mondo wondered, looking away from Chihiro with a slight blush in his cheeks.

“It’s very nice,” Chihiro responded with a sweet smile, “Thanks for taking me here, Oowada-kun.”

“No big deal, Kid. After all, I needed some way to get ya to take a break from that computer.”

“O-Oh, I see. So that’s your only reason?”

“What, n-no! Well, part of it, but I really did wanna take you out somewhere nice on this trip!”

“If you say so…”

Mondo’s insistence didn’t appear to be making Chihiro’s disappointed expression change much, so the former decided to start walking with him to a different area of the large moonlit park. Eventually, the two boys had approached a long bridge suspended above the water below. When they had crossed, the moon’s radiant light had not only lit up the sky from beyond the trees, but it had also glimmered onto the water’s surface.

“This bridge is pretty high up,” Mondo remarked.

“I-It really is,” Chihiro agreed, looking at the water below. “But, the moon makes it look really pretty from here! This is a perfect night to see this kind of view!”

“It’s not the only thing that looks pretty tonight,” Mondo said under his breath.

Unbeknownst to Mondo though, Chihiro seemed to have heard what he said, though he had to pretend he didn’t by trying to conceal the growing light blush in his cheeks. As him and Mondo walked across the bridge underneath the glimmering moonlight, they both kept walking until they spotted a nice bench with a lovely view of the lake. However, when they both sat down beside each other, the atmosphere around them was starting to grow rather quiet and shy as Chihiro wasn’t making eye contact with Mondo.

“You okay, Chi?” Mondo asked, worried.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine, Mondo-kun,” Chihiro told him, only looking up slightly, “I really am.”

“Ya don’t sound fine to me. What’s wrong? Are ya not having a good time or somethin’?”

“No no, I am. B-But… I can’t help but think about what you said when we got here. You know, about your reason for taking me here.”

“Is that it? Look, Chihiro, I didn’t _just_ want you to take a break from that huge program of yours; I really wanted to take you somewhere for the night.”

“You did…?” Chihiro asked, finally looking straight at the SHSL Gang Leader.

“Yeah! After all, ya really deserve to have the best time when you’re here,” Mondo said honestly as his face began to turn rosy. “Plus, we hardly get to spend time together. Y’know... when it’s just us.”

It was now Chihiro’s turn to start blushing at Mondo’s sincere statement. Although they were both looking away from the other with deepening blushes on their faces, both boys flinched a bit when they felt their fingers touch and intertwine with each other slightly. Despite that, the act didn’t fail to leave small smiles on Mondo and Chihiro’s faces.

* * *

 By 8:30, the two of them decided it was time to leave. As they both walked towards the park’s entrance, Mondo and Chihiro smiled at each other with intertwined fingers. However, Mondo’s attention was quickly diverted from Chihiro to the motorcycle, noticing that two guys were foolishly attempting to jack it.

“Oi, hands off the Kawasaki!” a furious Mondo roared, “That’s a fuckin’ rental!”

“Ha! Nous ne sommes pas peur!” one of the thieves boasted, still trying to tamper with the Kawasaki’s engine.

“You wanna fuckin’ go, jackass?!” Mondo growled, gripping the thief’s collar.

“A-Attendre!” the other thief gasped, “T-Tu es Mondo Oowada de les Diamants Fou!”

“I’m gonna assume one ‘a those words was ‘Diamond’, so you must know who I am,” Mondo stated in an intimidating manner as he gripped the thief’s collar tighter. “So, unless you wanna get choked to death with your own fuckin’ intestines, I suggest you scram.”

Fearful of the SHSL Gang Leader, both thieves dropped whatever gear they had on them and absconded from the scene faster than lightning. As Chihiro put his helmet back onto his head and climbed onto the motorcycle’s backseat, Mondo began revving the engine properly and soon drove off.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Chi,” Mondo apologized as they drove through Paris once again, “Dunno what the fuck those guys were thinkin’.”

“It’s alright, Mondo-kun,” Chihiro insisted, “At least they’ll never try to do that again, right?”

By almost 9:00, Mondo and Chihiro had finally returned to Hotel le Sénat. After the rental Kawasaki was parked outside of the building, the two eventually took the elevator up to the third floor and returned to their shared hotel room. When Chihiro looked over at the laptop on the table, he decided to work on his nearly-completed program in the morning, for he himself was feeling a little too tired. Removing his outfit one article of clothing at a time, he then pulled his blue pajama shorts over his spotted white bloomers before putting on his white t-shirt.

“I had fun tonight, Mondo-kun,” he told his roommate, who was almost done getting ready for bed.

“Me too, Chi,” Mondo responded with a smile, also unraveling his pompadour until his hair reached a little past his shoulders. “G’night.”

What Chihiro did next surprised Mondo greatly. The SHSL Hacker climbed up onto the SHSL Gang Leader’s bed and gave him a kiss on the lips that soon turned mutual before they both pulled apart. With that, Mondo was left completely flustered and red-faced from Chihiro’s surprise kiss.

“Uhh… uhh…!” he stuttered, collapsing onto his bed while blinking several times.

“Hee, good night, Mondo-kun,” Chihiro giggled with a blush of his own, turning off the room lamp before crawling into his bed and drifting off to sleep.


	15. Late Night Movies & Horror Stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everybody! I don't normally add comments/notes on this site, but I thought I'd do it for today!

Later that night at around 10:42 pm, Sayaka and Fukawa were in their hotel room and sitting on the former’s bed in their pajamas. At that moment, both girls wiping their tear-filled eyes and even blowing their noses with tissues as they were watching a movie by the name of “Paris, je t’aime”, having no trouble with the language barrier due to the set Japanese subtitles.

“Sh-She finally remembers him!” Fukawa sniffled, lifting up her glasses to wipe her tears away. “B-But…”

“He… he didn’t make it...!” Sayaka wailed, “after all that trouble he went through to see her again, he died before they could really reunite.”

“Th-That was sadder than the Bastille story. H-He did stay faithful to his wife instead of going off with that harlot! But in the end, sh-she succumbed to her sickness…”

Both taking one tissue each, Sayaka wiped the tears from her ocean blue eyes, while Fukawa blew her nose clear and threw the tissue into the small garbage can near the TV. When she came back, the next Paris story was already near the middle.

“Touko-chan,” Sayaka said, “I don’t think I ever asked; how did your French lessons with Togami-kun go?”

“Oh, th-they were wonderful!” Fukawa beamed, “I may not remember much from the beginning, but he actually taught me a lot of new words!”

“Ah, I see. Now, I wanna ask you something else, if that’s alright with you.”

“A-Ask me what, Sayaka-san?”

“Well…”

“Well wh-what? Spit it out!”

“Do you really think Togami-kun is ‘the one’?”

“O-Of course! Byakuya-sama is my White Knight, after all! Wh-Why wouldn’t he be the one?”

“Umm, how do I put this? Doesn’t he seem to be a bit _harsh_ towards you? I mean, he is kind of like that with everybody, but you seem to always get the cold shoulder from him.”

“I know it may seem like that, Sayaka-san. B-But, that’s just Byakuya-sama’s way of showing that he cares about me! After all, h-he’s just far too shy to show his true feelings!”

“If that’s the way you see it… Well, Touko-chan, if Togami-kun ever goes too far with his behavior and he makes you feel bad about yourself or unsafe, don’t hesitate to stop seeing him altogether, okay? In fact, don’t even bat an eyelash to leave pronto!”

“O-Oh, don’t worry. I d-doubt my White Knight would ever do something like that! ...B-But, should something like that ever happen for some reason, I-I will remember what you s-said.”

“Good. I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”

“Y-Yes. N-Now, can you p-please rewind the movie? I missed the other half of that last story.”

* * *

 Meanwhile in the Ishimaru/Kuwata room, the lights were out and both boys were in their beds (plus Ruby in her little dog bed) trying to get some sleep. ...Or rather, _Ishimaru_ was trying to get some sleep, but failing due to Leon’s constant annoyances. Whenever the Hall Monitor came close to closing his eyes for more than half a minute, the Baseball Player would always do something that prevented him from doing so.

“Yo, Taka,” Leon said, “you still awake?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Ishimaru growled, turning to face Leon from beneath his covers. “Kuwata-kun, when I said ‘it’s time for bed’, what part of that do you not understand?”

“Hey, I’m tryin’ to fall asleep. But, I don’t usually go to bed this early, so you’re shit out of luck if you think I’m just gonna start snoozin’ like that.” Leon said the last word with the snap of his fingers.

“That’s because you’re not even making an effort. It’s like the old saying goes: ‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy--’”

“--But socially dead?”

“N-No! It makes a man ‘healthy, wealthy, and wise’!” Ishimaru snapped, taking extreme umbrage at Leon’s assumption. “Now, go to sleep, Kuwata-kun!”

Slowly closing his crimson eyes with content, Ishimaru was starting to doze off until his eyes flung irritably flung open again upon hearing Leon’s ringtone go off. Much to the Hall Monitor’s dismay, his roommate decided that now would be a good time to answer said phone.

“Hello?” Leon wondered before his tone perked up, “Oh hey, Kazuichi! Yeah, sorry about forgetting to give you a call yesterday; had a little mishap with some crazy fans of Sayaka.”

“Kuwata-kun, what did I just--” Ishimaru began.

“Shhh! Quiet, dude! I’m tryin’ to talk!” Leon interrupted before speaking into his phone again. “Yeah, sorry, Kazu. It’s just my annoying-ass roommate. Hey, whaddya doin’ up this late anyway? Isn’t it like 5 am in Osaka right now?”

Annoyed at Leon ignoring him, Ishimaru didn’t hesitate to climb out of bed, yank the phone out of Leon’s hand, and end the call before once again confiscating the All-Star’s phone. After telling Leon that he’d get his phone back in the morning, Ishimaru placed the phone underneath his pillow and tried to fall back asleep after getting back in his covers. But once again, that plan was foiled by his inconsiderate roommate.

“Hey, Ishi,” Leon said, “you ever wonder why it’s night here, and almost morning back home?”

“Ugh, it’s because of the rotation of the sun,” Ishimaru explained, still tired. “One side of the Earth gets sunlight, the other doesn’t.”

“Then how come that part isn’t completely frozen over?”

“Because it **isn’t**. Now go to bed already.”

Unfortunately, Ishimaru would only be able to close his eyes for about five seconds before Leon started talking again.

“When I say ‘weakass’, you say ‘bitch’!” Leon chanted. “Weakass… bitch!” he finished when Ishimaru didn’t respond.

 _“Why me, why oh why me…?”_ Ishimaru thought as he pulled his pillow over his head in an attempt to block out Leon.

“C’mon, Ishi! When I say ‘weakass’, you say ‘bitch’! Weakass…”

“...Arf!” Ruby suddenly yelped after a few seconds of silence.

“Haha, see? Ruby gets it!”

“Kuwata-kun, please,” Ishimaru begged sincerely, looking at Leon with tired, yet pleading crimson eyes. “Please, I’m begging you; go to sleep. I’m tired, and I wish to sleep. So, I’m asking you nicely to call it a night, okay?”

“Ugh, alright. G’night, Taka.”

“Goodnight, Kuwata-kun! Sleep tight, and don’t let the Parisian hotel bed bugs bite!”

Closing his eyes once again, Ishimaru was actually able to keep them shut for more than two minutes. However, after those two minutes, he started hearing racket coming from Leon’s bed. Groaning, he turned over to see his music-loving roommate tossing and turning in his bed. And much to his dismay, Leon wasn’t sleeping at all.

“Augh, sorry, man,” Leon said, the bed still creaking underneath his squirms, “It’s just really hard to get comfy tonight for some reason.”

Looking at the clock, the time was now almost 11:20 at night. Fed up with Leon’s distracting antics, Ishimaru sighed and searched the lamp table’s middle drawer until he found the item he was looking for in the form of a fair-sized flashlight.

“Well, Kuwata-kun,” Ishimaru said, “If I’m not going to get any sleep because of you, then you’re not going to get any sleep because of me either!”

“Oooh, whaddya gonna do? Read Parisian history?” Leon wondered sarcastically, “that’ll be enough to put me to sleep for sure.”

“Not quite. I’m actually going to tell you a true story about a place called the Catacombs Of Paris.”

“The Catacombs? Hey, isn’t that that really creepy underground crypt house or somethin’?”

“That’s right! Now be quiet, and listen to my truthful tale. Long ago, there lived a middle-aged widower by the name of Jacques-Alexandre Pleure. Now, Monsieur Pleure was unfortunate enough to lose his dear wife Noelle to a sudden illness, and had remained stuck on the stage of denial ever since her burial.”

“Yeesh, poor guy…”

“Indeed, but that’s not the point of the story. Anyways, Monsieur Pleure often spent his days roaming the streets of Paris going to Noelle’s favorite places in fruitless hopes of finding her. And since she usually preferred to bask in the beautiful night, that’s when he’d often go. But one night, while hopelessly searching for his late wife, he suddenly hears an innocent ‘Jacquie?’ calling him from the nearby Catacombs. Being the desperate widower he is, Monsieur Pleure didn’t hesitate for a second to follow the voice into the Catacombs as it kept calling to him.”

“Aww, dude! Don’t go in there!”

“Oh, but he did. And when he followed the voice deep enough into the Catacombs where it’s considered the point of no return, Noelle’s voice began saying ‘Join me, Jacquie; join meeee!’. Then, after searching aimlessly, Monsieur Pleure finally spotted what looked like an apparition of his wife. When he got closer to the apparition, its quickly shifted from looking exactly like Noelle to the form of a distorted banshee-like creature. Before Monsieur Pleure could even try to turn back, the banshee spirit held him tight in her grasp, and the last sound he had ever made was blood-curdling screams as she pierced her razor sharp nails into his broken heart before it was ripped right out of his chest!”

Seeing Leon’s mortified and slightly sweaty expression with the help of the dim lighting of the digital clock, Ishimaru smirked to himself for a brief moment before continuing his scary tale.

“And poor Monsieur Pleure was never seen again…” Ishimaru continued, carefully creeping out of bed and towards Leon’s. “However, they say that if you go near the Catacombs, you’ll hear the blood-curdling screams of Monsieur Pleure being ripped apart by the evil spirit. Should you choose to go deep enough into the Catacombs, though, there’s just a little chance that if the banshee woman hears you… then _IT’S OVER_!” he exclaimed, shining the flashlight under his chin while suddenly clawing Leon’s chest.

“GYAAAUGH!” a terrified Leon shrieked, causing Ruby to suddenly bolt awake until her owner stopped screaming.

“Well, goodnight, Kuwata-kun! Sweet dreams!” Ishimaru laughed, turning off the lamp before returning to his own bed and falling soundly asleep.

“G-Goodnight, Taka…” Leon breathed uneasily. “Goodnight, Ruby.”

At the sound of Ruby’s quiet response, Leon turned over in an attempt to go back to sleep. But each time he did, the terrifying images of Ishimaru’s story would play over and over inside of his subconscious.

Groaning, Leon wound up spending the rest of the night in Ishimaru’s previous position: Trying to keep his eyes shut for the night, but unable to do so because of his roommate.

 


	16. To Catch A Thief: The Fenrir Edition

The following day was a fairly sunny Thursday morning, the time being marked at around 11 am. At that moment, Mukuro was roaming the streets of Paris by herself. Of course, she would have been walking alongside Ishimaru, had he not have already been busy taking Leon’s Papillon, Ruby out for a walk somewhere else in the city. The task was something he couldn’t say no to, seeing how it was the Hall Monitor’s fault that the Baseball Player was too exhausted to wake up sooner.

Sighing to herself, the SHSL Soldier kept walking through the city in hopes of finding her destination, which was the public square known as Place de la Concorde. Not only did she want to look around the square for a little sightseeing, but she also wanted to see the Luxor Obelisk up close for the first time. After a few more steps of walking, Mukuro finally reached Place de la Concorde and began walking around to see more of it.

“This is pretty nice, I suppose,” she said to herself, “I wonder if Junko-chan would have liked to have joined me…”

When she finally got in range of the Luxor Obelisk, Mukuro took out her phone to take a few notable pictures of the Egyptian artifact from a few different angles. But, as she snapped her last picture, someone rushed by her in the blink of an eye, The next thing Mukuro knew, she was carrying several trinkets and charms, all decorated with lapis lazuli gems and sapphires.

“What the…?” Mukuro wondered, staring at the foreign trinkets, “Who just ran by me?”

“Là-bas! Saisis sa!”

Before the Soldier could gather her thoughts, she was suddenly ambushed by  two cops. Mukuro struggled and grappled to try and break free from their grasp, but she was quickly apprehended when one of the cops tazed her in the side. Feeling herself almost sink to the ground, she panted slowly as the cops put her into the National Police van and drove off.

Some time later, Mukuro woke up in a fair-sized police station cell. Looking around, she could see a police guard sitting at the nearby desk reading the day’s paper and eating a paté sandwich as she began struggling with the bars.

“H-Hey! Libére moi, monsieur!” Mukuro pleaded.

“Silence, madame!” the guard snapped, “Tu es en état d'arrestation!”

“Arrestation? Pourquoi?”

“Ha, es tu stupide? Tu es un voleur!”

 _“A thief?! But I didn’t steal those jewels; someone just handed them to me and ran off!”_ Mukuro thought before speaking aloud again. “Monsieur, tu es tres mal! Je ne suis pas--”

“Silence! Ne parlent pas!”

Sighing, Mukuro merely sat on the bed in defeat. She knew she was in no way going to stay in a police station cell for a crime she didn’t commit, so she had to devise a method of escaping if the guard wouldn’t listen to her.

* * *

About half an hour had passed since Mukuro had been in the cell, and she was beginning to grow rather restless. But, she perked up rather quickly when she heard a loud gurgling noise coming from the guard as they clutched their stomach and headed for the station’s bathroom. Although the noises that followed was rather unsettling, Mukuro chose to ignore it and focus her attention on the cell’s wall. Scanning the bricks for an opportunity, she stopped when she noticed a few of the bricks were different from the others. When she poked at them a few times with her Fenrir knife (that the guards had foolishly neglected to confiscate), she found that some of the brick material had collapsed. Sheathing the Fenrir knife into her thigh pouch, Mukuro cracked her knuckles before giving the fragile section of the wall a great punch, withdrawing her hand once a big enough portion collapsed and formed a hole in the back of the cell.

“Hmm, they really ought to make burlier walls…” Mukuro remarked to herself.

Just then, she heard the toilet of the police station bathroom flush. Knowing she was running out of time, Mukuro quickly got into an army crawl position and slithered out of the hole and back into the streets of Paris. By the time the guard left the bathroom, the framed SHSL Soldier was already running far from the station.

“Sacré bleu!” the guard gasped, “Elle a échappé!”

When they were about to call for reinforcements, the police guard felt their stomach gurgle and turn once more, prompting them to run into the bathroom for yet another battle against the side effects of bad paté.

As Mukuro kept running further and further from the police station, she had a new goal in mind: capture the real thief and prove her own innocence. She went around the area gathering clues from Parisian citizens about the thief, all while avoiding any cops that might be nearby ready to lock her up again. From the information she had gathered, the thief went by the pseudonym “Mademoiselle Lazuli”, and would only steal things that were blue and beautiful, especially gemstones and trinkets. In addition, Lazuli was not only a thief, but also a “maîtresse de déguisement” for her several disguises.

“Okay, Mademoiselle Lazuli!” Mukuro said to herself firmly, “Your thieving days are over when I get my hands on you!”

The SHSL Soldier decided to start checking any and all stores that sold valuable blue trinkets and items that Mademoiselle Lazuli might want to get her hands on. Just then, her phone began ringing from her purse. Going to a desolate bus stop, she picked up her phone and the call turned out to be from Ishimaru.

“Yes, Kiyotaka?” she asked.

“Oh, hello, Muki!” Ishimaru chirped from the other line. “Umm, would you happen to know the best place to take a restless Papillon to by any chance?”

“Umm, I don’t know; the park, perhaps?”

“Great idea, my dear! And before I hang up, would you mind bringing back some café cinnamon buns? You really don’t have to, but I was thinking we could share them when you return.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Taka. I have to go right now, see you later.”

“Understood. See you later, Mukuro!”

Hanging up her phone, Mukuro left the bus station in favor of the nearby store in an area not too far from Place de la Concorde. Looking around the store for any clues, her gray-blue eyes suddenly locked on a suspicious female mime roaming a section in the back. Upon getting closer to the mime, Mukuro caught the mime smuggling blue gel pens, jewelry trinkets, and a few cerulean accessories. The filching mime then dashed out of the store, ignoring the cashier’s angry shouts completely. Looking behind her, she ran even faster when she noticed Mukuro was hot on her trail.

“Arrêter, Mademoiselle Lazuli!” Mukuro shouted.

“Se perdre, chienne!” Lazuli insulted.

Insulted and angry, Mukuro made a great leap to attempt to pin Lazuli to the ground. Unfortunately, the disguised thief managed to evade the attack and run even further as she left behind her pursuer on the pavement. Mukuro quickly got up from the street and gave chase to Mademoiselle Lazuli once again. She chased the thief all around the area, places ranging from bus stops, alleyways, and even the underground metro station.

In the metro station, Mukuro ran after Lazuli as the latter dashed towards a boarding metro train. Seconds before the door closed, the SHSL Soldier succeeded in getting on the train at the same time as Lazuli, both ladies being forced to hold onto the standing passenger handles as the train started moving. After a few minutes, the train finally stopped, and Lazuli continued to run away from Mukuro as she left the train. Mukuro swiftly followed the thief out of the underground station and back into the streets of Paris.

“Il n’y a pas évasion!” Mukuro exclaimed.

“Qui est ce que tu penses!” Lazuli retorted, still holding the stolen goods to her bosom as she picked up speed.

Much to Mademoiselle Lazuli’s misfortune, police sirens could be heard from nearby. Adding insult to injury, Mukuro had finally caught up with her target as the Soldier made Lazuli drop the trinkets by arm-gripping her in the neck. No matter how much Lazuli had struggled, she couldn't break free of Mukuro’s grasp in time to escape from the cops, who had at last pulled up at the scene with a pair of handcuffs.

“Officier!” Mukuro said, “J'ai capturé ton voleur!”

“N-Non, je ne suis pas un voleur! Je suis un petit mime!” Mademoiselle Lazuli lied before realizing her faux-pas.

“Tu es viens avec moi, Mademoiselle,” the officer said sternly, handcuffing Lazuli before forcing her into the back of the police car and confiscating the stolen trinkets.

“Thank God…” Mukuro uttered.

“Bravo, petite fille!” the officer thanked, “Comment pourrais-je remboursés tu?”

“Il n’y a pas besoin. Je suis bien. Mais, merci beaucoup!”

“Non, non! Merci beaucoup pour tu!”

Once the cop drove off with the arrested Mademoiselle Lazuli, Mukuro sighed with weariness as she began making her way back to the metro station. Before she did, however, she strolled into a local café to purchase a bag of fresh cinnamon buns along with some napkins.

* * *

 Mukuro later returned to Hotel Le Sénat at around 1: 30 in the afternoon, knocking on the Ishimaru/Kuwata room door before it was answered by Ishimaru himself. After the two shared a tender hug, the Hall Monitor soon pulled apart from the Soldier as he looked down at the bag she was holding.

“You really did get them,” Ishimaru pointed out, ushering her into his room. “Thank you, my dear!”

“Compared to what I’ve been through today, it was nothing,” Mukuro commented, looking at the deeply sleeping Leon. “Has Kuwata-kun woken up once?”

“Nope. Not even Ruby-kun’s excited barks could do the trick. My story must have really scared him last night.”

“You told him a scary story?” Mukuro asked, taking a cinnamon bun out and biting into it.

“Yes, but I’ll explain that later,” Ishimaru told her, already finishing off his own cinnamon bun. “How was your morning, Muki?”

“Hectic and tiring. I had a little run-in with a thief. The cops in this city, I tell ya…”

“A thief?! What happened?!”

After Mukuro told Ishimaru about her day, he looked at her with utter surprise and slight amazement on what she had been through. Finishing off a third cinnamon bun, he rolled the top of the paper bag shut and placed it on the nightstand.

“Mukuro, that’s quite amazing!” Ishimaru beamed. “With your skill in catching dirty thieves, you could be a cop yourself one day.”

“Do you really think so?” Mukuro chuckled with a smile, “Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad of a career. I could even become a member of the Special Unit when you become Prime Minister?”

“I wouldn't mind that…” Ishimaru said under his breath with a blush.

Yawning, Mukuro got up from the bed and gave Ishimaru a peck on the cheek before leaving the room. Ishimaru smiled as he put a gentle hand to the cherished spot where Mukuro had kissed him, but became more straight-faced when he heard Leon snore from his bed again.

“He really ought to wake up now,” Ishimaru sighed, looking at his sleeping roommate. “But on account of my scary story from last night, I suppose I could let him sleep a little longer…”


	17. Blinded By Stubbornness

“Naegi, hurry up already!” Togami snapped, exiting the Naegi/Togami room, “I’d like to get to the Grand Palais sometime before next year.”

“Coming, Togami-kun!” Naegi told him from inside the room, fumbling with his outfit a bit.

After a few seconds, Naegi finally came rushing out of the room. His outfit for the day consisted of a black tanktop underneath a powder blue hoodie adorned with a white skull print on the left half of the front, navy blue jeans, and his regular pair of red sneakers (that the Luckster was sure to tie properly to avoid accidental shoe loss).

“I’m ready!” Naegi said.

“It’s about time, boy,” Togami responded sternly. “Let’s go.”

The two boys then headed into the elevator and down to Hotel Le Sénat’s lobby, where they exited through the front doors of the building. Since the Grand Palais museum was rather far from the hotel, Naegi managed to get Togami to agree to walk with him after a lot of persuasion and convincing. But, after about ten minutes into the half-an-hour-long stroll, a local bicycler was cycling down the same sidewalk the two Hope’s Peak students were walking down, leading to them crashing into both.

“Gyaugh!” Naegi and Togami yelped as they fell to the ground harshly.

“Tch, filthy ruffian…” Togami hissed, rubbing his head.

Noticing his glasses had fallen off of his face, the SHSL Heir squinted at the now-blurry ground as he skimmed the sidewalk with his hand to try and find his missing specks. As he turned his back for a second to find the glasses, Togami flinched as he heard a _CRACK_ from underneath his knee. He did retrieve his coveted eyewear, but he was unfortunate enough to be holding two separate halves of the glasses with one of the lenses being severely cracked.

“Fantastic…” Togami sighed sarcastically, “And to think these were my best pair of glasses.”

“Well, I guess this means we need to head back,” Naegi pointed out, holding onto Togami’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“And who said I’m cancelling my plans for the day?” Togami asked, slipping his arm away from Naegi’s grasp. “We’re going to that museum.”

“But, Togami-kun, don’t you have bad hyperopia?”

“My farsightedness isn’t going to impair me, Naegi. I can see just fine.”

“Can you now? Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Togami squinted at Naegi’s hand, trying to decipher the number of fingers he was presenting to him. After a few minutes, he came up with an answer his poor eyesight had told him.

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re clearly holding up four fingers,” Togami answered with a smug smirk and folded arms.

“Umm, no. Sorry, Togami-kun, but you’ve got that wrong! I was holding up only three fingers. Try again.”

“Five?”

“Nope, seven.”

“All ten!”

“Eight.”

“Hmm… oh, this one’s easy. You’re only holding up two fingers.”

“Not even close! How do you confuse five fingers for only two?”

“Urgh… no matter, I’m not going back to that hotel until I see the Grand Palais!”

With stubbornness in each step he took, Togami began walking off in a huff towards the aforementioned museum. However, he was unaware that he was heading right into the street, and Naegi immediately pushed his classmate out of the way when a business truck nearly ran the richer boy over. A few seconds later, Naegi realized that he was on top of Togami in an odd position, prompting the Heir to push the shorter boy off of him.

“Do you _mind_ , Naegi?” Togami snapped as a slight blush grew in his cheeks. “I don’t believe I gave you permission to charge at me.”

“If I hadn’t, you would have gotten run over,” Naegi retorted. “I had to do something.”

“Ugh, very well then. Until we get back to Hotel Le Sénat, I hereby declare you as my ‘seeing eye dog’. You are to stay by me at all times, understood?”

“Yes, Togami-kun…”

Togami locked one arm with the SHSL Luckster’s in a firm manner. When Naegi asked him why he was doing that, the SHSL Heir told him that it was so his “seeing eye ‘dog’” didn’t try to walk off (not that Naegi had any intention to do so). But while explaining, Togami was refusing Naegi any shred of eye contact for some reason.

* * *

After twenty minutes had passed, the duo finally made it to Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, and Naegi led Togami through the front doors after the needed fees had been paid. Although Togami couldn’t see anything in front of him, he did notice the elegant designs of some of the windows far ahead of them. Naegi, on the other hand, was more focused on the vast space of the museum and some of the more close-up items visible.

“Whoa…!” Naegi breathed, “Togami-kun, this is amazing!”

“I’d bet it is, Naegi,” Togami said with sarcasm in his tone. “Quite a shame I can’t see half of it.”

“O-Oh, right. Sorry…”

“Forget it. Let’s just go see the rest of the museum.”

Taking a museum map from nearby, Naegi guided the visually-impaired Togami into an exhibit by the name of “Cartier: Style and History”. The jeweled hues of periwinkle that glimmered in the otherwise darkened room emanated a unique elegance that could only be seen within the walls of that particular space. Naegi decided to take a few pictures of the exhibit, while all Togami could do is walk away from a few display cases in order to see them.

“Togami-kun,” Naegi called, “maybe when you get another pair of glasses, I could show you the pictures I took?”

“Hmph, I don’t need to see some petty photos of the museum,” Togami huffed. “Some amateur photography of yours will never match the real deal.”

“Okay, nevermind…”

“...Show them to me if you want later on; I don’t mind. However, I will still remain indifferent, got it?”

“Got it.”

Still squinting, Togami inched closer and closer to a light blue blur until he finally found Naegi and linked his arm in his once again. The Heir truly did hate having to rely on someone to be his sight just so he could walk around, but since it was Naegi, he didn’t seem to be as annoyed. However, this was not something he would dare say aloud, so he merely kept it to himself as the Luckster walked with him to another exhibit.

The two boys soon found themselves in a room with hundreds of circles with diverse colors laying atop towering stilts, making them resemble large colored tables. While Naegi was taking a few pictures, he felt Togami let go of his arm.

“Togami-kun, where are you--” he began.

“I’m just looking around,” Togami assured him. “I don’t need you to-- OUCH!” The farsighted Heir had crashed into a stilt before he could finish his sentence.

“I really think you shouldn’t go off without any glasses.”

“Nonsense! The esteemed eyes of Byakuya Togami are perfectly fine! I won’t allow myself to-- AUGH! OUCH! OOF!”

Taking one last photo, Naegi quickly went over to Togami before he could blindly crash into anymore exhibit stilts and hurt himself. The Luckster guided his borderline-sightless roommate across the room until they were out of the exhibit. But soon enough, the two had to stop in front of the restrooms for Naegi to do his business. Since Togami didn’t have to do the same (nor was he willing to use “commoner bathrooms”), he had no choice but to wait outside.

 _“He really shouldn’t be dragging me all over the museum like this…”_ Togami thought to himself. _“No matter, I’ll just view more of the Grand Palais by myself. Someone as sophisticated as me doesn’t need some sort of babysitter!”_

As he heard the toilet flush from the inside of the boys’ bathroom, Togami immediately began walking off on his own. But as soon as he was far from the bathroom, it didn’t take long for the stubborn Heir to crash into a wall. Rubbing his forehead, Togami continued to stumble off on his own, brushing off every crash and collision as if they were nothing.

“This country has the weirdest toilets ever… Alright, Togami-kun, let’s--” Naegi began as he walked out of the bathroom, only to discover Togami was missing. “Togami-kun?! Augh, damn it; he must have left without me!”

Running from the bathroom area, Naegi dashed down the halls of the museum in a desperate attempt to search for Togami. The Luckster searched a large number of exhibits, but had no avail in finding his nearly-blinded comrade. As he looked through the exhibits, he noticed that a few paintings and items had been knocked over and even knocked off of the wall.

“Man, Togami-kun really can’t see too well without his glasses…” Naegi remarked to himself, “I’d better find him before he causes anymore damage!”

When Naegi entered the Treehouse Exhibit of the Grand Palais, a wave of relief washed over him when he finally spotted Togami. Before the Heir could clumsily stumble off again, the Luckster caught up to him and prevented him from leaving.

“Naegi, is that you?” Togami asked.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Naegi answered, clasping him by the arm. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

“I said no, boy! I have yet to finish my visit to the Grand Palais.”

Just then, a female security guard came up to the two boys with a stern look on her face. As she stared into her notepad, she looked back at Naegi and Togami.

“Garçons,” she said, “Quelque de les expositions sont ruiné. Avez-vous fait?”

“...Togami-kun, I think we’re in trouble--” Naegi began.

“Non, madame,” Togami lied, trying not to squint. “Nous n'avons pas ruiner les expositions.”

“Es-tu sûr, monsieur? Tu corresponds la description: Le cheveux courts blond, les yeux bleu et magnifique, mâle, environ seize ans…”

“Au revoir, madame. Naegi, let’s go.”

Upon hearing that, Naegi quickly rushed out of the museum while hanging onto Togami, lest the Heir cause anymore blind damage. Once out of Le Grand Palais, Naegi refused to let go of Togami as they walked closer and closer to Hotel Le Sénat.

“Togami-kun, why would you run off like that?” Naegi asked, cross. “You could have gotten yourself hurt!”

“Oh right, like I need someone to drag me around all day,” Togami retorted, annoyed. “I was tired of you treating me like some helpless child!”

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who made me your personal ‘seeing-eye dog’ in the first place!”

“...Well, I changed my mind. Someone as high-class as me doesn’t need a seeing-eye dog to drag him everywhere.”

“Clearly you did. If I hadn’t found you, not only would have more expensive paintings and artifacts have gotten wrecked, but you could have gotten seriously hurt.”

Togami blinked at Naegi’s considerate nature, despite being used to his behavior at that point. Regardless, he merely brushed it off with a huff and said nothing else.

* * *

 After another half-an-hour had passed, Naegi and Togami returned to the hotel and entered the building’s lobby. One brief elevator ride had taken them back to the third floor, where Togami took their room card key out of his pocket and slid it into the key reader until their room was unlocked. Upon the boys entering the room, Togami stumbled over to the suitcase closest to his bed until he eventually found a second glasses case. The Heir sighed with relief once the spare pair of glasses had been placed over his eyes.

“Ah, that’s much better,” Togami sighed.

“Good, you can finally see again,” Naegi remarked as he lied down onto his bed. “I’m just glad you won’t be crashing into anything else anymore. I still wish you’d be more careful, though.”

“Hmph, you didn’t _have_ to accept my offer, Naegi. If anything, you made yourself worried over nothing.”

“If that’s what you think, Togami-kun…”

“...Naegi,” Togami said after a minute of silence.

“Yeah?”

“I suppose I could give you a ‘thanks’ after today. I’ll just let you know that I deem it as _acceptable_. Well done.”

“You’re welcome, Togami-kun. I had fun today too.”

Not noticing the faint pinkness in Togami’s cheeks, Naegi turned on his phone to look back on some of the pictures he had taken. When Togami approached him, the blonde insisted that he had every right to look at the pictures if he wanted to. As Naegi smiled, he wound up looking at the pictures he was able to take with Togami for some time, both admiring the sights of the French museum.


	18. A Very Espress-ive Movie Trip!

In the Ishimaru/Kuwata hotel room, Leon was still sleeping the afternoon away in his bed. His exhaustion hadn’t gone down too much since Ishimaru’s frightening story about the Paris Catacombs. The SHSL Baseball Player was completely ready to keep on sleeping for as long as he pleased. However, that plan was quickly foiled when…

“Kuwata-chi!” Hagakure shouted, waking his friend up with a jolt.

“Gyaugh!” Leon sputtered, nearly falling out of his bed. “What the fuck, Hiro? I’m sleepin’ here...!” he snapped with a tired yawn in his tone.

“You’ve _been_ sleeping all day! Now, c’mon! Let’s go out and do something in the city!”

“Urgh, can we go tomorrow?”

“Nope! At this rate, you’re gonna wind up spending our last two days in Paris in bed!”

“Ugh, fine… Just gimme a minute.”

Squirming around in his bed, Leon tried to summon the strength to get himself out of bed. But, his weariness proved to be quite strong, and he wound up slumping back onto his mattress. Fed up, Hagakure decided that he was going to get him out of bed one way or another.

“Pssst, Ruby-chi!” he quietly called to the red Papillon as she scampered over. “It looks like your owner could use a little wake-up call!”

When he placed Ruby on top of Leon, she approached his face and began licking his cheeks. As Leon started laughing at the ticklish sensation, his eyes finally opened as he took Ruby into his arms.

“Okay, okay! I’m up, girl!” Leon told her through a few chuckles.

Yawning again, Leon groggily pulled himself out of bed at the same time Ruby climbed off. Gathering a few of his clothes from his duffle bag, he dragged himself over to the bathroom to shower. The warm shower water made full contact with his bare skin and managed to wake him up a little, but still not enough to eradicate his drowsiness completely. He came out of the shower wearing dark-colored jeans with a few holes around the knees, a black tank top donning a skullhead underneath a metal-colored jean jacket, and a pair of black sneakers. It was rather extreme compared to Hagakure’s outfit (baggy dark blue capris sweats, a tan hoodie over a T-shirt, and his usual pair of sandals), but the Fortune Teller chose not to say anything.

“Ready now?” Hagakure asked.

“Y-Yeah, just lemme see if Sayaka can watch Ruby for a bit,” Leon yawned, glancing at his energetic Papillon before going over to Ishimaru’s bed.

Taking out his once-confiscated cell phone, Leon sent Sayaka a text asking his question. A few minutes later, his text tone (which was merely an electric guitar chord) went off, and the Baseball Player received a message saying “sure! drop her off when ur ready to leave! <3”.

“Alright!” Leon cheered, finding Sayaka’s typical texting style to be adorable. “Rubes, me ‘n Hiro are goin’ out for a bit, so you gotta stay with Sayaka, ‘k?”

Upon hearing her owner’s news, Ruby’s tail began wagging excitedly at the thought of visiting the bluenette Idol temporarily. Picking Ruby up into his arms, Leon told Hagakure to take the needed dog supplies with him. Both boys left the room, and Leon locked the door behind him. He knocked on Sayaka’s door somewhere across the hall, and fortunately, she was the one to answer it instead of Fukawa.

“Hey, babe!” Leon greeted, giving Sayaka a peck on the lips.

“Good afternoon, Leon,” Sayaka said back before looking at the Papillon in his arms. “And how are you doing today, Ruby?”

Ruby barked happily as a response to Sayaka, as if to say she was doing fine. But, when Fukawa came to the door, the Papillon immediately started baring her teeth and snarling, only for the Literary Girl to shoot a nasty glare back at the dog before ignoring her.

“I d-don’t know what’s up with that d-disgusting mutt of yours,” Fukawa commented at Leon, still unaware that Syo had met the dog, “but it had b-better stay far away from me!”

“Too bad. Saya agreed to watch Ruby until me and Hiro come back, so you’re stuck with ‘er,” Leon said flatly.

“Wh-What?! I don’t want to be stuck with some m-mangy mongrel! She’d better stay away from Kameko if she knows what’s good for her!”

“Ugh, you actually brought your stink bug to Paris, Fukawa-chi?” Hagakure wondered, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

“Wh-What’s it to you, you roach? K-Kameko’s a way better pet than that thing!”

“Touko-chan, don’t worry,” Sayaka assured her friend. “I promise I won’t let Ruby do anything to Kameko.”

“Y-You do? Well, okay. I-I’ll endure the mutt, Sayaka-san. But only this once.”

“Be good for Sayaka and Fukawa, ‘k, girl?” Leon said, giving Ruby a head scratch. “I’ll see you girls in a bit.”

Hagakure handed over the dog supplies to Sayaka and Fukawa before he and Leon made their way to the hotel elevator. Hagakure noticed his friend was starting to doze off again as they were slowly making their way down the floors. By the time the elevator stopped at the lobby, Leon had suddenly snapped awake.

“Kuwata-chi, what time did you go to bed?” Hagakure asked, making sure Leon doesn’t fall over tired as the two students walked out of the elevator.

“Uhh… let’s see,” Leon yawned, trying to remember, “I think I finally fell asleep at like… 10 am?”

“10 am?! Geez, I didn’t think Ishimaru-chi’s story was _that_ scary! C’mon, we’ll get ourselves some coffee, then we’ll go.”

Yawning, the mostly groggy Leon followed Hagakure out of Hotel Le Sénat to a café situated close by in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. For breakfast, Hagakure ordered a cheese-and-ham omelette with a glass of orange juice, and Leon chose to try out some crêpes filled with strawberries and cream cheese, a piping cup of espresso on the side to keep him awake.

“Hey, Kuwata-chi,” Hagakure started as Leon reached for the espresso cup, “you realize that espresso is different than coffee, right?”

“How so?” Leon yawned, swallowing a forkful of crêpe. “Isn’t it just the French way of sayin’ ‘coffee’?”

“One, no. Two, espresso has way more caffeine than regular coffee. So, you may wanna be careful ‘bout what you’re drinking.”

“I’ll live, Hiro. I just need to wake up if I ain’t goin’ back to bed anytime soon.”

Despite Hagakure’s warning, Leon took a large sip from his cup of espresso. When he didn’t feel much happen, he kept drinking from the now-tepid drink until the cup was empty. Leon didn’t feel the affects of the espresso, not even as he finished his own breakfast as Hagakure finished his. But, when they left the café after paying for their food (with Leon reluctantly having to loan some money to his poorly-financed friend), the SHSL Baseball Player was beginning to feel the caffeine course through his once-exhausted veins.

“Hey, so Hiro!” Leon piped up, starting to get rather jittery. “Where’re we goin’ anyway, huh?”

“I told ya about the espresso, Kuwata-chi,” Hagakure sighed. “Anyways, I got us tickets to a movie! It starts in half an hour, so let’s go!”

Hagakure began walking in the direction of the movie theater his phone was telling him. Suddenly, a hyped-up Leon dashed straight ahead of him, nearly leaving behind the half-surprised Fortune Teller until he was told to stop.

“Leon, slow the hell down!” he told him. “I told you ya shouldn’t have gulped down that espresso!”

“Haha, sorry man!” Leon cackled, still energized from the French drink. “But I just can’t stop, I gotta go go go go now! Man, I’ve never felt so awake in my life!”

Leon kept dashing ahead with a hasty Hagakure running to catch up with him. The Fortune Teller soon caught up and grabbed Leon by the jacket collar, glaring at him with a stern look.

“Kuwata-chi, slow down already,” he said. “You don’t even know where the place is! Lemme take you there before ya get lost.”

Not letting go of the collar, Hagakure dragged Leon back in the proper direction. The 20-year old didn’t take too long reaching Cinéma le Saint Germain des Prés, the exact place listed on the tickets.

“Here we are!” Hagakure announced, letting go of Leon at last.

“So, so, what movie’re we gonna see, huh? What movie, Hiro? What’re we gonna go see?” Leon asked in a fast-paced and hyper tone.

“Easy, boy. Let’s just go in and see the movie before ya crash.”

“What? I ain’t gonna crash, I feel great! Hey uh, what’s the movie about anyways?”

“Like I’d know. I just found a movie that looked good online and went with that.”

Leon and Hagakure went inside, the former nearly zipping past the latter with his newfound espresso energy boost. Hagakure walked up to the person at the front desk and handed them the movie tickets. He didn’t notice Leon had zipped off to the concession stand and purchased a medium bag of popcorn and two drinks for the two of them since the hyper Baseball Player was back in the blink of an eye.

“Next time we go to a café, don’t get the espresso if ya can’t handle it,” Hagakure laughed, taking his drink. “Come on, we’re gonna miss the show!”

The boys made their way to the correct theater and took their seats once they were found. Although the first few minutes of the movie had already played beforehand, they were still able to catch what happened afterwards. The entire film was of course in French, so Leon and Hagakure didn’t know what they were saying.

“Oi, why the hell’re we watchin’ this?” Leon groused, “I can’t understand anythin’ they’re saying!”

“Chuuuut!” the rest of the the theater shushed.

“Kuwata-chi, ya gotta pipe down!” Hagakure scolded with a whisper. “People wanna watch the movie!”

“But why’d ya drag me to it?” Leon retorted, this time whispering too.

“Because, you needed to get the fuck outta bed, that’s why! Let’s just try to enjoy the movie any way we can.”

Rolling his eyes, Leon slumped back into his seat, cheek balanced against his palm boredly as his agitated foot tapped impatiently against the hard flooring. With each scene they viewed without a word understood, Hagakure was starting to grow as increasingly bored as his much-younger friend beside him, munching on the last couple handfuls of their shared buttery popcorn.

“This was a bad idea, wasn’t it?” Hagakure groused.

“Ya think?” was the rhetorical question that passed Leon’s pierced lips. Leon blinked as an idea formed in his head, turning to Hagakure with a sly expression invisible due to the dim lighting. “Why don’t we ‘translate’ the movie? That oughta make things less boring.”

“‘Oh, Pierre! How could you do this to me?’” Hagakure started in a falsetto voice and French accent, mocking the woman on the screen. “‘I thought you loved me!’”

“‘No, Cécile! It’s not what you, how you say, think!’” Leon added in a deepened voice and French accent. “‘Agathe, sh-she means nossing to me! You are my true amour!”

“‘I don’t believe you, you pig! You have betrayed our love with that vile woman! Goodbye!’”

“Cécile, mi amour! Don’t leave me!’”

“Chuuuut! Silence!” the audience shushed, now aggravated at Leon and Hagakure’s disruption.

“Fine, we’ll be quiet,” Leon uttered, slumping into his seat. When a new scene came up, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “‘Bon-chure, madame-oysel! I am, how you say, Michael!’”

“‘Oh, Michael, you are revolting! And yet, I am strangely attracted to you! Let’s get married!’” Hagakure exclaimed with a feminine whisper.

“‘Oh-ho-ho, oui! Let us do as ze French do and, how you say, French kiss~?’”

As the man and the woman performed an actual kiss of passion on-screen, Leon and Hagakure merely made obnoxious noises exaggerating the scene. But as they prepared to mimic what they thought the next piece of dialogue was going to be, the theater’s usher grabbed them both by the shirts and dragged them away from their seats. Soon, the two Hope’s Peak students were tossed onto the floor outside of the theater harshly.

"Dehors ! Et restes-y !" the usher snapped, slamming the door on Leon and Hagakure.

“Well, that was fun while it lasted,” a sarcastic Leon scoffed, rolling his eyes and walking towards the exit.

“Admit it, you had fun doing the voices,” Hagakure insisted, nudging Leon’s arms lightly with his shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess. At least that version would’ve been better to watch!”

When Leon and Hagakure left the theater, the espresso-charged former nearly zipped off from his friend to no other spot in particular. Pretty soon, Hagakure found himself following Leon everywhere around the small section of Paris.

“Kuwata-chi, slow down!” Hagakure shouted after his friend.

“No way! Now that I’m awake, I’m goin’ everywhere! Ya hear me, Hiro? I’m going every--”

At that moment, the espresso that once surged through the SHSL Baseball Player’s body died in a near-instant. Once energetic and manic, Leon now started to feel sluggish and lethargic as he slumped onto a nearby bench. He let out a groan as Hagakure picked him up and carried him like a human crutch.

“Another thing about espresso,” Hagakure added. “When its buzz wears off, you crash hard.”

“Urgh, whatever…” Leon slurred, “let’s go back to the hotel already.”

Soon, the two students made it back to Hotel Le Sénat with ease. They marched through the lobby and into the elevator, where Leon climbed off of Hagakure and leaned on the wall lethargically. The elevator came to a stop upon reaching the third floor, and both boys walked down the hallway and unlocked their respective rooms.

“Ya have fun, Kuwata-chi?” Hagakure asked.

“Yeah, I did,” Leon answered, holding out his fist for Hagakure to bump. “Thanks for that, Hiro.”

Before they could go back inside and greet their respective roommates, Leon and Hagakure simultaneously heard their unique text tones sound off. Looking at them, the message turned out to be from Kirigiri and was rather vague.

“What’s yours say?” Leon asked.

“It says ‘I’d like to do something special with everyone b4 we go back 2 Osaka on Saturday. Meet me in the hotel lobby tomorrow night @ 9 o’clock. Bring about 10 euros and don’t be late.’,” Hagakure recited. “Huh. Wonder what Kirigiri-chi’s got in store for us. Gotta be important if she mass texted it.”

“Well, that’s tomorrow night’s problem. I’m gonna go lie down for a little.”

With that, Leon and Hagakure bid each other temporary goodbye again before entering their rooms and closing the door tight. Neither student thought much about the recent mass text and merely went about relaxing from the recent and rambunctious movie trip.


	19. Lost In The Unliving

Friday night had come. Kirigiri sat in the lobby, cross-legged and staring at her phone. It was a few minutes after 9 o’clock, but she still expected the rest of the 78th Class (besides Celes, whom she forced to come with her for punctuality) to arrive.

“Do you think they’ll come?” Kirigiri asked her roommate.

“Worry not, my dear,” Celes assured calmly, sipping her royal milk tea. “I’m sure everyone will be here. After all, they all sent replies saying yes, didn’t they?”

“Yes, they did. I just wonder if they’re still willing to go through with this.”

At that moment, the elevator _DING_ noise went off, and the first to step out of the elevator were Naegi and Togami. Naegi took a seat next to Kirigiri, while Togami sat in the chair near the nonchalant Celes.

“So, what are we doing, Kyouko-san?” Naegi asked.

“I’ll reveal everything once the others arrive,” Kirigiri answered. “Let’s just say tonight’s a special offer I wouldn’t dare pass up.”

As if on cue, the next students to come down the elevator were Chihiro, Mondo, Ishimaru, and Leon. In the latter-most student’s arms were Ruby the energetic red Papillon, who started running around her owner’s ankles once he set her down after leaving the elevator with the other boys.

“Ugh, you’re bringing your filthy mutt, Kuwata?” Togami scoffed.

“Ruby ain’t a mutt!” Leon snapped. “And yeah. There’s no way I’m leaving my poor dog alone while I’m out God-knows-where.”

“Speakin’ ‘a which,” Mondo interrupted. “Where the hell are we goin’ anyways?”

“We don’t know,” Naegi answered. “Kirigiri-san won’t say until everyone gets here.”

In smaller, individual groups of three or four, the rest of the 78th Class arrived at Hotel le Sénat’s lobby with questions. Kirigiri wouldn’t answer them and merely instructed them to wait and follow her out of the hotel.

The Paris night sky was dark, yet adorned with twinkling stars reminisce of little diamonds on a roll of smooth velvet. Below its glistening dark beauty were the sixteen Osaka-born students of Hope’s Peak Academy, awaiting a bus at the stop closest to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. After a good ten minutes, their mode of transportation arrived at last and all of the students boarded the somewhat empty bus after their tickets were punched.

“It shouldn’t take us too long to get there,” Kirigiri remarked as the bus left the stop.

“But where are we going, Kirigiri-chan?” Asahina asked.

“As I’ve been saying, you’ll see soon,” was what the SHSL Detective answered with.

“Is it somewhere appropriate?” Ishimaru asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, don’t worry, Ishimaru-kun,” Kirigiri assured him.

The bus passed through several buildings and streets in the course of eleven minutes until it stopped close to the entrance of a mysterious building. When Kirigiri approached the sign beside a night guard, it read “Entrée des Catacombs” from the dim moonlight shining down from the sky’s night.

“This is the place,” Kirigiri confirmed with a small smile. “Everyone, we’ll all be going into the Catacombs and out. I figured this place would be appropriate for one last Paris tour.” The lavender-haired girl made a gentle hand gesture towards the entrance door. “Shall we?”

“The Catacombs?!” Leon gasped, now horrified. “Aww, fuck that! Ruby and I are out!”

“Kuwata-kun, please,” Ishimaru groaned. “The story I told you was nothing but a fable. There’s no French banshee looking to kill anyone; I made everything up!”

“Yeah, b-but… ya never know! One minute ya say it’s a myth, and the next, it turns out ta be real!”

“S’wrong, Leon? Ya chicken?” Mondo taunted before making clucking noises and scuffling his feet at Leon.

“N-No, I’m not chicken! I just don’t wanna get my ass killed by some psycho ghost lady! My heart’s fine where it is!”

“Hey, Kirigiri-chi,” Hagakure gulped, looking at the Catacombs warily. “This place isn’t… haunted by any chance, is it?”

“Who knows? The reason I came here was to unravel some of its mysteries,” Kirigiri answered. “If it’s haunted, then it is. I’ve seen a lot worse than some ghosts, anyway.”

“G-G-G-Ghost?!” Hagakure gasped, cowering beside Leon. “Uh-uh! No way I’m goin’ in there!”

“Calm down, Hagakure,” Asahina sighed. “There probably aren’t any ghosts in there! Besides, do you and Leon really want to be the only ones out here in the middle of the night?”

“Just come inside with us,” Sakura said, somewhat annoyed by Hagakure and Leon’s cowardice. “Ghosts are non-existent.”

“Eh-heh, maybe Ogre-chi’ll scare the ghosts off!” Hagakure breathed, following the rest of the class into the frightening tombs while making a pretend cross against his chest using his thumb.

“Oi, wait up!” Leon exclaimed, fastening a leash onto Ruby’s collar and going inside after his friends.

Once all sixteen students (some hesitant, others indifferent) paid the fee and were all accounted for in the mouth of France’s infamous burial chambers, Kirigiri instructed everyone to stay together due to the complex labyrinth that was the Paris Catacombs.

Luckily, there were lights among the bone and skull-adorned walls of the dead, so seeing ahead was no problem. Kirigiri offered three spare maps to no one in particular, the only takers being Mukuro, Sakura, and Ishimaru. The class walked deeper into the dimly lit cemetery until they were much further underground, passing decrepit and eerie bones with each step.

“Th-This place is a little scary…” Chihiro gulped with worried eyes.

“Worry not, Fujisaki-san,” Mukuro assured from nearby. “Everything here is dead, so it’s impossible for them to come out and grab you.”

“I-If you insist, Ikusaba-san. H-How come you’re not scared?”

“I’m the Super High School Level Soldier, so I’m used to seeing death.”

“Ah… still, you’re pretty brave! I can see why Ishimaru-kun likes you so much.”

Chihiro’s chipper statement made Ishimaru blink in surprise and give the equally startled Mukuro a light and ruddy smile. Mukuro in turn returned the favor, but was quickly pulled close to Junko, who had an arm around her sister’s shoulders.

“Lovin’ the sights, Mukuro-chan?” she asked merrily. “It’s not every day you get to see bones up this close. Well, you’re probably used to it, but I’m not!”

“Right…” Mukuro agreed half-heartedly. “Whatever makes you happy, Junko-chan.”

Eventually, the large group stopped in front of a large sign with a French inscription. Despite Kirigiri being unsure what it said exactly, the sign failed to deter her and instead peaked her interest further. Togami took the initiative to look at the sign himself as Kirigiri kept her attention on it.

“It says ‘bones of the ancient cemetery of the Magdalene’,” Togami translated, “‘filed in 1844 in the western ossuary and transferred to the Catacombs in September 1859’.”

“These bones were moved?” Asahina wondered.

“O-Of course they were moved, you d-dumb cow!” Fukawa insulted before becoming dreamily content. “Byakuya-sama’s French is only the best! There’s no way he’d ever m-mistranslate!”

“Merci,” Togami responded smugly before moving on alongside the others.

As the others made their way through the tunnels, Leon kept darting his head back and forth while holding onto the leash containing the excited Ruby. He kept trying to convince himself that nothing would happen in the Catacombs, but haunting memories of Ishimaru’s story were battling that hope and winning ruthlessly. He jumped in surprise when he felt something touch his shoulder, only to relax when it turned out to be just Sayaka.

“Leon, are you scared?” she asked him.

“What, me? No way!” he lied, covering up his fear. “It’s just a vault full of bones! Ain’t no way something’s gonna just jump out and-- OOF!”

Leon crashed into a wall obstacle, the coarse and hole-filled object rubbing against his skin like sandpaper on an innocent plank. Rubbing his face, Leon’s fear came rushing back when he came face to face with two head sculptures protruding from the wall, appearing as though they were moaning with agony and suffering.

“GAAAAAHHH!” Leon screamed, releasing the leash by accident and frightening Ruby into running away from her owner’s echoed terror. When he saw his dog escape, Leon stopped screaming and started chasing after the yelping Papillon. “Shit! Ruby, come back!” he called after her, following the tapping of the leash and frightened dog yelps through the dark tunnels.

“Kuwata-kun, wait!” Naegi called out.

“Don’t worry, Naegi-kun!” Ishimaru assured him, following after Leon. “I’ll bring him right back! He really ought to take more precautions…”

“Oi, Kyoudai, don’t go in there!” Mondo shouted, running towards Ishimaru with Chihiro following behind.

Before anyone could make any further objections, the four boys were completely out of sight from the rest of the class. Rather than going on without them, Kirigiri suggested some people go and find them so they could leave, disappointed at possibly not being able to explore much more around.

“We’ll be right back, Kirigiri-san,” Sayaka volunteered, turning on her phone light.

“S-Sayaka-san!” Fukawa objected, grabbing her friend’s sleeve. “D-Don’t go down there! You’re just bound to get l-lost, I know it!”

“Touko, I’ll be careful. I promise I’ll come back safe and sound! Besides, I’m not going alone.”

Celes, Mukuro, and Junko soon walked closer to Sayaka. The Idol said bye to the Literary Girl again before strolling down the dark tunnels of the underground tombs. Fukawa felt more than worried about her friend, but when she followed behind Togami and the others, she started feeling somewhat better from being around her “White Knight”.

As the remaining group kept wandering the dark caverns, all they kept seeing was more and more bones. Kirigiri kept stopping to the side to examine more of the Paris Catacombs, acting as if they were such a harmless sight with stoic, yet curious eyes.

“I never took you for one to be interested in this kind of place, Kyouko-san,” Naegi remarked. “I like how you keep your cool even underground.”

“Thank you,” Kirigiri replied with a small smile. “But really, this place is nothing compared to what I’ve seen before.”

“It isn’t? Not even with all the bones and corpses?”

“Makoto, please. I once had to watch a woman spontaneously combust right in front of me. This is child’s play in comparison.”

Naegi blinked in shock at the revelation, but simultaneously became amazed at Kirigiri’s thick skin. He took a few photos of the bones before shutting off his phone. With the others, Hagakure was still scared out of his mind.

“Give it a rest, Hiro,” Asahina sighed. “Everything here’s dead.”

“Exactly! Don’t you know things don’t always end after someone dies?!” Hagakure screeched while reciting an odd chant to himself.

“There isn’t such a thing as ghosts,” Sakura assured him. “Nothing here will curse you, so calm down.”

“S-Says you, Oogami Sakura-dono!” Yamada whimpered, taking a large gold cross necklace and string of garlic cloves from Hagakure and holding it high. “Those spirits won’t come anywhere near us!”

“Ignore them,” Togami scoffed. “Those imbeciles are overreacting as usual.”

“R-Right! Of c-course Byakuya-sama isn’t scared of anything!” Fukawa swooned, grasping onto Togami’s waist.

“It’s very hard to be scared of something that’s non-existent,” Togami said, shoving Fukawa off of him in disgust. “Ghosts are merely a fable made to scare those who lack the proper intellect.”

Hagakure backed up while still reciting the chant with his eyes closed until he fell flat on his bottom. He looked straight up to see one of the skulls up in his face, causing him to scream in terror and grab a startled Yamada.

“I can’t take it anymore! I want nothin’ ta do with these ghosts!” Hagakure screeched, running off while still holding onto Yamada. “We’re outta here!”

“H-Hold on! Where are you taking me, Hagakure Yasuhiro-dono?!” Yamada yelped as he and Hagakure disappeared through the tunnels.

“...We’ll get ‘em,” Asahina told the others. “Come one, Sakura-chan.”

“Yes. If we don’t, they’re bound to get themselves into trouble,” Sakura added, walking off with Asahina and shining her phone flashlight into the darker tunnels.

Kirigiri looked around, seeing the only ones left were Naegi, Fukawa, Togami, and herself. Sighing, Kirigiri looked at the map under the dim chamber light and told everyone which way to go. With that, the remaining four started searching for the others and an exit.

* * *

 “Ruby?!” Leon called in one of the chambers, searching all around. “C’mon, Rubes, this ain’t funny! This is the second time I’ve had to chase ya! Ruby!”

The worried All-Star looked all around the dim Catacombs for the lost Papillon. Despite his apprehensiveness from the story, he was relieved to hear dog barks coming from his left. When Ruby came to light, Leon’s face fell a little when he saw she wasn’t alone. Instead, the Papillon was being carried by Mondo, walking next to him were Ishimaru and Chihiro.

“Gah, why am I always stuck with you three?!” Leon complained as he took Ruby back from Mondo, leash and all.

“You’re fuckin’ welcome for findin’ your dog, Leon,” Mondo scoffed sarcastically.

“Nevermind that,” Ishimaru said, looking at the map with his flashlight. “Right now, we need to find a way out of the tunnels!”

“E-Exactly!” Chihiro gulped, unnerved by the sights of the undead. “Then we can all go home tomorrow.”

“Let’s just hope we don’t run into that banshee chick waitin’ ta steal Leon’s heart!” Mondo teased, bapping Leon in the chest once to make him flinch.

“Gah! Cut the shit, Oowada! Let’s just get out already…”

* * *

 In another section of the Catacombs, Sayaka and Mukuro were roaming around in search of Leon’s group, Junko and Celes following right behind. They passed an eerie cross with foreign writing inscripted on it, but found no sign of Leon or the others within the vault of bones. Out of all four girls, Sayaka was the only one who showed any visible fear.

“This place sure is creepy,” Sayaka shuddered. “Any sign of Leon or the others?”

“Not a one, Maizono-san,” Celes answered. “Those four couldn’t have gone too far, I’m sure.”

“Well, wherever they are, I’m sure they must be scared halfway to death!” Junko cackled. “Isn’t that right, Mukuro-chan?”

“Yes, it’s normal to be scared under these conditions,” Mukuro agreed, not at all affected by the bones and skulls on the walls. “But here’s to hoping no one gets hurt.”

“Especially not your boyfriend, right?” Junko teased, nudging her older sister’s arm.

Mukuro blinked as a light blush spread across her freckled cheeks. She started to object Junko’s statement, but said nothing much of the assumption and instead moved on. Both Celes and Junko were giggling to themselves about it, following a very worried Sayaka through the tunnel of bones.

* * *

 As they searched the Catacombs for their missing friends, Togami was walking beside Kirigiri, Naegi, and Fukawa. Although the Heir couldn’t have cared less about the underground burial room, he was starting to realize Fukawa wasn’t acting as clingy as usual. Usually, the girl would be huddling up and fawning over him, but this time, she was hardly acknowledging his existence in favor of something else. Not that Togami really minded the peace and quiet from Fukawa, but he wasn’t exactly used to it from her specifically, so it felt almost alien to him.

“Fukawa,” he said firmly, finally nabbing her attention.

“Y-Yes, Byakuya-sama?” Fukawa asked, rather pleased that Togami was the one saying the first word instead of her.

“Don’t take this as actual concern for you, but I’ve noticed you’re rather quiet tonight.”

“Q-Quiet? What do you mean?”

“Usually, this is the part where you’d huddle up to me like some needy child while expositioning my greatness. However, you’ve hardly done that.”

“Oh, s-sorry. I g-guess I’m just a little worried about Sayaka-san is all. Sh-She could be anywhere in this s-stupid tomb!”

As Fukawa called out Sayaka’s name a few times throughout the Catacombs, Togami was still surprised at her lack of clinginess towards him. On the one hand, he was more than relieved that he’d finally gotten some peace and quiet. But on the other hand, he wasn’t as used to it from Fukawa in particular.

The quartet walked further into the Catacombs at the directions of Kirigiri. The trek came to a halt when the SHSL Detective stopped in front of a large tombstone with an evanescent engraving of “L’eclise st. Laurent”, presumably belonging to a citizen that was long-deceased.

“Kyouko-san, shouldn’t we be looking for a way out of here?” Naegi wondered.

“We are, Makoto,” Kirigiri answered. “In the meantime, we might as well soak up as much as we can here.”

“Okay. Who do you think’s buried here?”

“Who can say? I do find the mysteries lurking down here quite intriguing, if I say so myself. Don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess I see where you’re coming from. Can’t really say I’m one for ancient tombs, though. What about you, Togami-kun?”

“The only thing that concerns me at the moment is leaving this horrid underground cemetery,” Togami replied in disgust at yet another hundred wall-skulls. “If you ask me, this visit was a waste of my precious time. Right, Fukawa?”

“Hmm?” Fukawa wondered, not paying attention to Togami’s words all that much. “O-Oh, yes! I agree w-with… wh-what you just said, Byakuya-sama.”

After saying that much, Fukawa followed Naegi and Kirigiri towards the exit of the Catacombs, allowing a quite surprised Togami to walk in the same direction beside the other three. He took another look at the distracted and disregarding Fukawa before huffing to himself and shrugging off her scarce attention towards him.

 _“Hmph, it’s no skin off of my nose,”_ Togami scoffed in his head. _“Regardless… I can’t say I’m used to Fukawa ignoring me out of the blue like this. It’s become eerily quiet without her stuttering mouth running.”_

* * *

 “Aaaaaugh!” Hagakure whined, clasping the spare garlic cloves and miscellaneous charms to himself. “Who’s got the map?!”

“That would be me, stop panicking,” Sakura answered, still examining the map as she walked with the rest of the group members.

“Then tell us how ta get outta here, Ogre Girl! I can’t stand another minute here!”

“We should hopefully be nearing the exit. Just be patient instead of being fearful over things that don’t exist.”

“Easy for you to say, Oogami Sakura-dono!” Yamada cut in, just as frightened as the superstitious Hagakure. “You don’t know the horrors that the undead could possibly bring!”

"'Horrors'?" Asahina asked skeptically, "Like what, Yamada?"

"I'm of course referring to the unspeakable curses of the afterlife! Or perhaps someone who has ingested the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, such as the lovely Ghost Princess Perona, plans on manipulating our minds by instilling thoughts of negativity!"

While Sakura paid no heed to Yamada's ludicrous spiel and Hagakure started trembling with increasing terror, Asahina merely rolled her eyes and kept following Sakura. Being lost inside an underground French tomb was torture enough, but insult was added to injury at being stuck with the two most superstitious buffoons in the class.

The group of four kept walking along the map's pathway, their flashlights eradicating the darkness that dared to stand in their way of liberation. Behind the patient Asahina and Sakura were the frightened Hagakure and Yamada. Both were waving around silly anti-spectral charms and uttering bizarre incantations to ward away the departed.

"Will you two give it a rest?" Sakura demanded to know. "You're both getting out of hand."

"E-Easy for you to say!" Hagakure yelped, "Even the g-g-ghosts aren't dumb enough to attack an Ogre like you!"

"Hiro, for the last time, there's _no such things_ as ghosts!" Asahina snapped, glaring at the 20-year old. "We're almost at the exit, so quit bellyaching and toughen up!"

"Eh, how close exactly, Asahina Aoi-dono?" Yamada quivered.

"Well... I don't know. Sakura-chan, how far is the exit from here?"

"We should be out in a few feet," Sakura answered. "Then we can all go back to the hotel and get some rest."

As they followed in the direction the map was taking Sakura, Hagakure clumsily bumped into something shrouded by darkness. Switching his flashlight on, his hazel eyes widened with terror at what he saw. Protruding from the decrepit wall was what looked to be a corpse attempting a futile escape, looking Hagakure straight in the eyes.

"GET ME OUTTA HEEEEERE!" Hagakure screeched, bolting ahead of the other three with no hesitation.

"Oh, not again," Sakura sighed, Hagakure, come back!"

The other three gave chase to the frightened Fortune Teller. Rapid footsteps reverberated through the tunnels of Paris' burial chambers until their excitement came to a dead halt. And in that halt came two masculine grunts as their bodies collided with one another. When they fell to the ground, lights were shone on the other resulting in screams from both parties.

A few more terrified sounds were exchanged until Hagakure realized it was Leon he'd been screaming at. His terror turned to instant relief from the sight of his friend, who'd stopped screaming himself when he recognized Hagakure.

"Thank God it's only you, Hiro!" Leon breathed. "Good thing you're not some freaky banshee lady tryin' ta kill me!"

"Kuwata-kun, where are you?!" Ishimaru called, shining his flashlight from behind.

"Ishimaru!" Asahina called, waving her hand in the light. "We're over here!"

Following behind Ishimaru were Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon's dog, Ruby. Both groups were able to retrieve their runaway members and start making their way towards the exit.

"How was your search with Kuwata?" Sakura asked the other group. "Were you able to navigate the tunnels more efficiently than we were?"

"Doubtful," Ishimaru sighed. "If only _someone_ didn't scare Kuwata-kun off with counterfeit ghost noises!" he snapped, glaring at Mondo.

"Relax, Kyoudai, it was a joke," Mondo groaned. "It ain't my fault Kuwata's a scaredy cat, now is it?"

"I-Ishimaru-kun, didn't you also frighten Kuwata-kun before tonight?" Chihiro wondered with innocence.

At his friend pointing out the fact, Ishimaru had nothing to say for once. Instead, he continued walking towards the exit alongside his classmates.

* * *

 The group consisting of Naegi, Fukawa, Kirigiri, and Togami looked all around the tunnels until they at last saw the Spring moonlight peering from a flight of stairs. Crossing the threshold, the quartet all made it back to the outside streets of Paris that were bathed lightly with the stars and gleams of the moon.

"I'm glad that nightmare's over," Togami remarked. "Any longer and we would have been among the dead."

"At least it made for an interesting trip," Kirigiri commented. "Wouldn't you agree, Makoto?"

"Yeah, it was... 'interesting' to say the least," Naegi agreed with half a heart.

Fukawa paid no heed to anyone in her group, not even her "White Knight". She stopped looking around with worry in her pewter-brown eyes when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs, being overcome with relief at the sight of Sayaka. When the Idol saw her, she ran over to Fukawa with joy.

"Y-You made it out, Sayaka-san!" Fukawa piped, smiling softly. "D-Did you get hurt or s-something down there?"

"No, I'm fine, Touko-chan," Sayaka insisted. "But are you alright?"

"Th-That doesn't matter! As l-long as you made it out alive, it's fine..."

While the two friends conversed in a friendly manner, Togami looked at the two and rolled his eyes in disgust. Soon, the remaining eight students (along with Ruby the Papillon) came up from the Catacombs, adjusting their vision to the moonlight after being underground for almost hours.

Kirigiri looked around, making sure all of her classmates were present and accounted for. When the count was at the correct 15 (not counting herself or the dog), she knew the night was complete.

"Let's go already," Leon and Hagakure groaned.

"It is getting rather late," Celes pointed out. "And it'd be fitting if we all got some rest for tomorrow's trip back home."

"We're done here," Kirigiri said. "I've seen all I needed to of the Catacombs, so I'm ready for bed."

"Then let's get going," Togami demanded. "The last thing I want to do is be responsible for waking you all up."

With that all settled, everyone began walking back to the bus stop, their temporary mode of transport arriving less than a few minutes after the trek.

Everyone returned to Hotel Le Sénat safely, making their way up to the third floor and reserved rooms one by one. As the hallways were cleared of people, the 78th Class started getting ready for bed so as to awaken on time for the planned return the following day.


	20. Nous Aurons Toujours Paris

In the early hours of 5:20 am, the groggy students of Hope’s Peak Academy were in the process of getting ready for their flight back to Osaka, Japan. Hotel rooms were being cleaned, luggage was being repacked into suitcases and bags, and the students of Hope’s Peak Academy were mostly all set.

Within the Ishimaru/Kuwata room, Ishimaru was putting the finishing touches on his organized suitcase full of washed clothes and materials. Satisfied, he looked over to see how his former roommate was holding up. Although Leon’s own bag was still pretty messy, he did seem to be making sure everything was all set.

“Alright, now I just gotta--” Leon began until he heard a few stressed barks from a certain Papillion. “Ruby, what’s wrong?”

Ruby scampered up to Leon’s ankle, leaned the side of her face into it and started whimpering with worry. Leon knelt down and ruffled the dog’s silky cheeks, giving her reassuring words of whatever was the matter with her.

“I think you’re gonna like Japan, Rubes,” Leon said. “Shit there’s a lot less complicated than France, anyways. Now c’mon, we gotta get goin’.”

Leon carefully ushered Ruby into the little red travel crate he’d bought for her the previous afternoon. Once his peppy dog was inside, Leon closed and locked the door. When Ishimaru finished scribbling down a note and went to the room door with his packed things, Leon followed suit, slinging the large sports bag over his shoulder and carrying the caged Ruby in one of his hands.

“What were ya writin’, Taka?” Leon asked.

“Just a little thank-you note for the hotel’s hard work!” Ishimaru chirped as he left the room with Leon. “Having to share a room with you and a dog aside, they’ve done a commendable job during our vacation!”

“I hope they can read Japanese. Because you’d have done that all for nothing.”

Ishimaru locked the door behind them and went to the elevator with Leon and Ruby. The device descended a few floors down until it stopped in Hotel Le Sénat’s lobby, where Togami and Naegi were waiting. Naegi gave both of his classmates a friendly morning hello, while his rich roommate paid them no heed and only sipped an exquisite cup of French coffee. Togami’s attention was only diverted from the last few coffee sips when he noticed Leon still had Ruby with him.

“Don’t think you’ll be letting that filthy street mongrel out in _my_ private jet,” Togami growled rudely. “I won’t have dog sheddings all over the expensive seats because of your attachment to that creature.”

“Jeez, don’t get your diamond-encrusted panties in a bunch, Togami,” Leon scoffed, rolling his eyes. “When we get back to school, Ruby won’t have to look at ya anymore. So for now, suck it up.”

Togami let a low “hmph” escape his stubborn lips as he sat down next to Naegi again, sipping the last few drops of the coffee he was drinking. Coming from the elevator this time were Mondo, Chihiro, Mukuro, and Junko. Ishimaru immediately went to greet his friends, but what also caught his attention was Mukuro, who looked back when she noticed after putting her stuff down.

“Good morning, Kiyotaka-kun,” Mukuro greeted with a smile.

“Ah yes, a good morning to you as well, Mukuro-kun!” Ishimaru chirped. “Did you have fun on the trip this week?”

“Indeed I did,” Mukuro answered, remembering her and Ishimaru’s trip to a certain monument. “I trust you did as well, correct?”

“Yes, yes I did. Thank you for such a fun--”

“Augh, my God!” Junko groaned, standing in between the two. “You two are practically going out, so would it kill ya to have a conversation that didn’t bore anyone half to death?!”

“My apologies, Junko-chan,” Mukuro said to her sister. “Kiyotaka-kun, I'll make it my mission to converse with you properly once we're on the jet."

"Very well then. Though I wouldn't exactly consider it a _mission_."

Ishimaru went over to a proud Chihiro and Mondo, both of whom began a conversation with their mutual best friend.

Coming down the elevator next were Fukawa, Sayaka, Kirigiri, and Celes. Whilst the former duo were in midst of a friendly conversation, the latter twosome hardly said anything to each other. In addition, the only thing Celes was carrying was a single rose, its petals a crimson more vivid than her own deceptive eyes.

"Where'd you get the rose from, Celes-san?" Naegi asked the Gambler.

"Oh, this? It's nothing, really," Celes typically lied. "Consider it a little Parisian souvenir. A trinket, even."

"A 'souvenir' from your not-so secret admirer?" Kirigiri wondered sarcastically.

" _No_ ," Celes insisted, glaring at her roommate, "It's just a little courtesy of this trip--"

Suddenly, Yamada and Hagakure came down to the lobby with loads of luggage, some of the bags Yamada was carrying belonging to Celes. The Doujin Author’s attention was snagged by the one item Celes was holding when he went to return her bags back into her possession.

“Celes-dono!” Yamada squeaked with a joyful surprise, “You actually kept the rose I’d gotten for you?”

“Oh, so you got the rose from Yamada-kun?” Naegi questioned after hearing that. “That was nice of him to do.”

“Ah, but such a beautiful flower is only fit for a lady such as Celes-dono!” Yamada proclaimed proudly. “It is the least she deserves after falling ill to the dreaded Paris Syndrome!”

“Yes yes, but I merely kept the flower because it is a lovely one,” Celes insisted. “Really, it would have done just as good if anyone else gave it to me. I will say you’ve done a commendable job at treating me how I deserve.”

This made Yamada smile proudly as he took a seat in the lobby. Coming down from the elevator at last were the final two students in the forms of Sakura and Asahina. They both let out yawns as they placed their things in the lobby after exiting the elevator.

"Aww, are we really last?" Asahina wondered in disappointment.

"Yes, you both are," Togami pointed out bluntly. "Any later, and I'd have gladly left the both of you behind."

"We're already here, Togami," Sakura said, giving the affluent Heir a slight look. "So it's best not to start any trouble until we get back to Japan."

" _Exactly_ ," Asahina snarled at Togami. "The last thing I want this morning is to hear some snobby lemon boy complain about everything."

"...'Lemon boy'?" Togami wondered to himself, rather thrown off by the sudden insult.

Kirigiri pointed to each student and quietly counted her classmates one by one. Counting herself, she concluded that all sixteen students were present and ready to leave. Togami went to the front desk and made the needed payments for checking out, then leaving alongside his classmates without any further words.

* * *

The students of Hope's Peak Academy didn't have to wait long for the large buses, which pulled up in the square after only 15 minutes. Everyone loaded their luggage into the transport vessel and boarded. When everyone was seated next to a person of their choice, the bus drivers engaged the engine and started taking off towards the Charles de Gaulle Airport.

"Well, that trip was fun while it lasted!” Junko exclaimed, stretching her body in her seat. “At least I’ll get ta come back for my next worldwide fashion show! What did you think, Muki?” she asked her sister. “I’m sure even a smelly buzzkill like you had fun in Paris!”

Mukuro was about to give a nonchalant agreement to her sister, until she looked towards the back. She spotted Ishimaru merrily conversing with Mondo and Chihiro on their positive experiences in the City of Lights, smiling lightly as a pink color came to her freckled cheeks.

“I loved it,” Mukuro answered, putting a hand on her heart. “It was certainly a new experience for me.” The Soldier also recalled another experience she had in France. “Also, I got arrested and caught a jewel thief with my own two hands.”

“You did what now?” Junko asked, sure she didn’t hear her older sister correctly.

In another seat, Ishimaru was continuing to talk to Mondo and Chihiro about memorable experiences in France while the bus started getting closer to the Charles de Gaulle International Airport. He peered up from his seat a little, looking right at Mukuro talking to Junko. When she looked back for a split second, smiling at him with a wink, Ishimaru sputtered somewhat with a roseate face, waving back to Mukuro before sinking back into his seat. This went noticed by Mondo and Chihiro, who looked at their friend with the utmost of pride in their eyes.

“So, she does like ya,” Mondo chuckled lightly.

“Does this mean you and Ikusaba-san are dating now?” Chihiro asked.

“Erm, dating?!” Ishimaru coughed, covering his lips with the side of his fist. “I’m not all too sure if Muki-kun and I are ‘close enough’ to consider such an extreme term!”

“Clearly ya are if ya just called ‘er by a nickname. You two are totally goin’ at it!” Mondo insisted.

“As I’ve said, I’ll consult her about this on the plane.”

Ishimaru took another warm look at Mukuro, his heart filling with joy before sitting back in his seat in the proper posture. He continued to talk to Mondo and Chihiro, feeling his mood lift into a positive one after confessing he had a great time on the trip to Paris. Regardless, the Hall Monitor’s mind was still just as firmly set on the return to Osaka so he could continue his scholarly duties, eyes shifting to Hagakure and Leon in a different seat.

Somewhere towards the front, Togami leaned his bored cheek on his fist, blue eyes shifting to his right where Fukawa and Sayaka were storming up some meaningless conversation. The Heir noticed how the Literary Girl failed to pay even a second of attention to him like she usually did, an odd feeling emptying his chest for some reason. Togami thought nothing of it, letting out a discontented sigh and looking out the window. He was quickly brought back to reality when someone poked him in the shoulder, about to get cross until he saw the perpetrator was Naegi.

“What do you want, boy?” Togami asked with a scoff in his tone.

“You seem upset,” Naegi pointed out, careful not to move so the sleeping Kirigiri leaning on his shoulder remains undisturbed. “Is everything okay, Togami-kun? You’ve been a little out of it since last night.”

“I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. Elaborate.”

“You seem to have some kind of problem with Fukawa-san since she stopped paying attention to you as much as she used to.”

“Oh please, Fukawa’s free to do as she pleases. It isn’t my problem is she chooses to divert her attention to some ditzy Idol instead of my greatness. I’m positively flawless on my own! Why should I care if she no longer wants anything to do with me?”

“But you do.” Naegi smiled slightly, humor sprinkled across his lips somewhat. “If I didn’t know any better, Togami-kun, I’d say you miss Fukawa-san. Even just a little bit.”

“How about ‘to no degree’? Because I want nothing to do with that vexation of a girl.” Togami pursed his lips, glancing at the oblivious Fukawa talking happily to Sayaka and turning his head away with a pout. “The only one at fault for her foolishly choosing to ignore me is her. I’m perfectly guiltless.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s anyone’s fault, really. Maybe if you just talked to Fukawa-san, you’d feel better.”

“And just what led you to that conclusion?”

Naegi sighed in slight aggravation, bringing a palm to his forehead and running it downwards. He looked at Togami again, not breaking eye contact for a second. The Heir in turn only blinked once before rolling his eyes at Naegi’s attitude, though he too could detect how serious the Luckster was being.

“Togami-kun, you’re probably not gonna admit it,” Naegi said, “but you definitely miss Fukawa-san. I can’t force you to do anything, but I can give you my best advice. She doesn’t care about you any less just because she talks to someone else. If anything, Fukawa-san definitely still wants a lot to do with you. All you have to do is talk to her to get things straightened out. If you don’t, well… there isn’t much else I can say to you about it. That’s all on your part.”

“Fine, why don’t I humor you? I’ll talk to Fukawa on my jet, but only for a few seconds. After that, you have to stop bothering me with this nonsense. Do you understand, Naegi?”

“Clearly, Togami-kun. You wouldn’t just be doing me a favor.”

After only a few more minutes of riding the transport vessel, the bus stopped in front of the Charles de Gaulle airport at last. When any sleeping ones slowly awakened due to the sudden stop, all sixteen students got up and went outside, gathering luggage from the opening compartments of the bus before heading into the large airport. Everyone stayed together as individual groups amongst a bigger one as a class, traversing the building of class and foreign language to find their reserved runway.

“Where did you say your jet was again, Togami-kun?” Kirigiri asked.

“Right outside Terminal 3,” Togami recalled. “Now, just where is it?”

“You don’t remember where it is?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kirigiri. I haven’t forgotten for a second. The airport building is simply so large and convoluted that it’s hard to spot the correct terminal right away.”

“Found it, Togami-chi,” Hagakure pointed out, overhearing the conversation and gesturing to where the jet was appointed to be.

“Information I already knew, Hagakure,” Togami told him rudely, walking with the others following.

The 78th Class all crossed the gates of Terminal 3, crossing a larger threshold where Togami’s heavy jet was only in a somewhat far sight. They all stayed together, walking past the French citizens and boarding the escalator. Soon enough, everyone arrived at the runway where the cleansed and towering heavy jet awaited with its pilot.

Everyone’s luggage was put on the conveyor belt, moving along at a steady pace as the bags were guided into the jet’s storage hold one at a time. The airport official shut and locked the compartment, giving a salute to Togami before leaving as everyone started boarding the plane. All sixteen students (plus the newer appearance that was Ruby the papillon) were seated and tending to individual activities amongst themselves and their friends, the pilot taking it as the okay to start the engine. Within a few mere seconds, the plane drove forward and lifted itself upwards into the air, marking the inception of a return trip overseas.

* * *

Two hours into the flight, the heavy jet passed over Budapest, Hungary, clarifying it would be another ten or so hours before the plane could ever hope of passing Asia. By then, it was close to 7:30 or 8, the students attending to their own affairs within the heavy jet.

Over on one of the plush sofas were Kirigiri and a somewhat groggy Naegi. Naegi tried his best to keep himself awake after such a long morning, but it proved easier said than done. To make matters worse, Kirigiri seemed more than invested in the film being watched, albeit in a different sense than before. Thankfully, Kirigiri hadn't noticed her partner’s weariness, instead continuing to ask him about the film.

“This movie isn’t anything like the book,” Kirigiri scoffed, rolling her eyes. “All they did was take the title and make it completely different. Just who is Mrs. Pyke anyways? I’ve read it from start to finish and haven’t seen anyone with that name. Don’t you agree, Makoto?”

“Hrmm… yeah, that’s true,” Naegi yawned, fighting to keep himself awake.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look as though you’re paying attention to the film.”

“Ah, sorry, Kyouko… I'm still pretty tired from getting up so early. But I'm watching, really! I swear!”

“Alright. Then what's your take on this sorry excuse of a film?”

“Hrmm… I haven't read Holmes, but I don't think the movie’s too bad. There's definitely a plot going on.”

“Interesting deduction. There's one problem, though.”

“What?”

“We're supposedly watching ‘A Study In Scarlet’, which doesn't follow anything in the book.”

“O-Oh. Sorry, I’ll pay attention.”

Naegi quieted a yawn to the back of his throat, making sure Kirigiri never caught on that he was tired. While the movie progressed as the skeptical Detective viewed it with judging eyes, Naegi’s weary ones fought to stay open. In the end, however, the cumbersome eyelids won the battle of consciousness, causing Naegi to fall right asleep as Kirigiri started criticizing the movie again.

“Ugh, now they’re--” Kirigiri was about to start until the snoozing Naegi unknowingly slumped his head onto her shoulder. “Makoto?”

Kirigiri put a gloved hand on Naegi to gently shake him awake, only to have no avail. Sighing, the girl decided to turn off the horrendous movie in favor of letting Naegi continue sleeping. Her heart seemed to pick up its pace at the feeling of having him rest against her, Kirigiri smiling at the sight of how peaceful her lover looked. Kirigiri pulled him close with one arm, leaning her own head against Naegi’s neck crook to enjoy the serene atmosphere between them.

In another part of the private plane, Sayaka and Fukawa were merrily conversing with each other. Sayaka was holding open a hardcover copy of a novel previously in Fukawa’s possession alone, both girls now reading it and commenting on its contents. While Sayaka had the utmost adoration for what she was viewing, Fukawa’s expression was comparably more stern and critical of the novel.

“It’s so sweet how Florentino kept loving Fermina even after all those years,” Sayaka crooned, cheeks somewhat pink. “It really shows how far he’s willing to go for her.”

“I g-guess,” Fukawa sighed. “But, don’t you remember what h-happened to América? A-And all b-because Florentino j-just couldn’t let things go.”

“Oh yeah… There’s really no backup for that part at all. But, Urbino didn’t seem all that perfect either.”

“N-No, he didn’t. Though his relationship w-with Fermina seemed a lot more realistic than F-Florentino’s.” Fukawa continued to read a section of her book, letting off a gentle smile. “S-Still, this is one of my favorite belle-lettre novels.”

“I can see why, Touko-chan! And you got me hooked so easily!”

From nearby, Togami looked on at the two girls commenting and reading the novel together, huffing to himself at the sight. Though a part of him was rather elated to have Fukawa off his back and onto the SHSL Idol’s instead, another didn’t agree all the way. He thought back to what Naegi had told him on the bus, trying to convince himself that his only motive for the upcoming action would be to get the Lucky Student off of his back. Keeping his sophisticated composure, Togami walked over to where Fukawa and Sayaka were, almost immediately catching their attention with a cough to clear his empty throat.

“Oh, B-Byakuya-sama,” Fukawa said, now noticing Togami without the usual enthusiasm she showed towards him. “Is s-something wrong?”

“Fukawa, I’d like to speak with you,” Togami told her, “in private, that is.” He seemed to glance at a certain blue-haired Idol using those words, the girl in turn giving him a skeptical look.

“Y-You would?” Fukawa wondered, treating Togami’s words as surprising news.

“Touko-chan, wait,” Sayaka warned, pulling Fukawa a bit closer and away from the Heir. “Remember what I said a couple nights ago?”

“I kn-know, Sayaka-san. D-Don’t worry, everything will b-be fine. I promise I won’t let anything b-bad happen if it does.”

Nodding with uncertainty, Sayaka let Fukawa go and told her she’d see her in a bit after the conversation. Togami took a seat on the circuitous sofa, looking right at the mildly excited Fukawa. Despite her joy being downplayed, the glasses-wearing brunette still showed plenty of pleasure from sitting next to Togami. As for the rich blonde himself, Togami rolled his eyes derisively, yet remaining in his seat to get things off of his chest.

“S-So, you really wanted to talk to me, B-Byakuya-sama?” Fukawa purred, a smile on her rosy face.

“Don’t think it’s anything below a civil conversation, Fukawa,” Togami sneered, pursing his lips up. “Anyways, let’s just say I’ve noticed… a few things regarding you as of late.”

“What kind of things?” Fukawa’s tone was blatantly satisfied, expecting some sort of compliment from her crush.

“Firstly, whatever ridiculous romantic fantasies you’ve come up with are not the issue at hand. Second, what I’ve noticed is that it’s been rather, erm, quiet around me recently.”

“Oh. H-How have things b-been quiet?”

“They’ve been quiet in the case of a certain bookworm not running her mouth around me 24/7. Not that I’m in any way complaining about finally having peace and quiet, but I’ll certainly admit it’s a new silence for me.”

Fukawa’s eyes widened, almost as if she was looking at the wondrous cosmos themselves in the form of Togami. At the same time, Fukawa realized that she’d have been completely ignoring her White Knight as of late, feeling somewhat bad for it (though not as much as she could have been). Togami glanced his eyes away, still rather bitter about everything despite not wanting to believe himself to actually feel something as “petty” as possibly being lonely.

“Does th-that mean you really like t-talking with me, Byakuya-sama?” Fukawa cooed lovingly.

“Quit jumping to conclusions,” Togami sneered. “I only said I’m not used to any of the cold shoulders you’ve been giving me. I thought you of all people would have the decency to not ignore me.”

“I’d never ignore you on p-purpose, Byakuya-sama! Only a complete moron would do something like th-that! I was just…” Fukawa paused, smiling at the memories of her Paris experiences with Sayaka. “I made a new friend.”

“I am aware,” Togami said indifferently. “Considering how much time you’ve spent clinging to Maizono as if you were some helpless child, it’d be hard to overlook.”

“It s-sounds like it’s b-bothering you.”

“It is _not_ bothering me, mind you. I simply think it’s uncouth for even someone like you to not at least acknowledge my presence for the sake of some peppy Idol.”

“Ah… so that’s how you really feel, i-is it?”

“Take it as you will, but not in your abhorrent delusion that we’re lovers, understand?”

Fukawa blinked behind round glasses, her face heating up with a gentle pink color and smiling at Togami as he huffed and looked away from her completely. Personal fantasies aside, even she could see that he was clearly bothered by it, which satisfied her all the more about how Togami felt about her. She had no hesitation whatsoever in going back to talking with Sayaka about their trip experiences while Togami picked up a novel for his own enjoyment, but the very realization that the Heir seemingly cared about her hadn’t failed to make her heart flutter.

Somewhere near the personal jet kitchen, Ishimaru was conversing with Mondo and Chihiro, the former’s arm around the small waist of the latter affectionately while doing so. While Ishimaru usually had a bone to pick with such a gesture, he chose not to change the topic and warn his friends in a moment, instead sternly looking at Mondo’s arm around Chihiro for a moment. As they talked, Mukuro watched from afar with uncertainty. She looked between the unknowing Ishimaru and the indifferent Junko, who was filing her nails and reading a new magazine of hers without even giving her older sister so much as a side glance. Mukuro nodded before walking over to the three boys carefully.

“I do hope you two don’t intend to be inappropriate during school hours once the new year starts,” Ishimaru warned, wagging a stern finger. “Friends or not, PDA is still prohibited on my watch!”  
“Taka, it ain’t like things are that different now,” Mondo said flatly. “Besides, it’d be just a kiss or a fuckin’ hug. It ain’t like we’re doin’ really dirty stuff in public or somethin’!”

“Not to mention that’d be illegal anyways,” Chihiro added, resting his head on Mondo’s arm. “You can trust us, Ishimaru-kun! We don’t let you down.”

“I will always trust you both with my life. But don’t let me catch either of you slipping up, understand?”

“Yikes, I guess havin’ his first kiss didn’t get ‘im ta lighten up after all,” Mondo muttered to Chihiro before looking behind Ishimaru and grinning. “Speak of the devil, how’s it goin’, Ikusaba?”

“Nice try, Kyoudai, I’m not falling for that one so easily--” Ishimaru was about to say until the following voice startled him.

“--I’m alright, Oowada-kun. I trust you’re doing just as well,” Mukuro answered civilly.

“Mukuro?!” the startled Ishimaru gasped, his cheeks a flushed shade of pink. He finally calmed himself after clearing his throat, now standing up and facing Mukuro. “What is it, my dear?”

“I’d like to have a short word with you in private, please. If you wouldn’t mind, that is.”

“Of course not! Lead the way.”

As Ishimaru left the seating area and a grinning Mondo beside a supportive Chihiro behind, Mukuro had him stand near her behind the kitchen counter in the jet’s respective room. Her own cheeks were still flushed, but she took a breath and prepared herself for speaking to the Hall Monitor.

“Kiyotaka, I must ask you something first and foremost,” Mukuro began. “Are we… an item? I understand we kissed and you said you have those sorts of feelings for me. But…”

“But what? Don’t you feel the same way?” Ishimaru gave Mukuro a worried glance, fearing the worst.

“Well, I’m not exactly going to say I don’t. What’s happened between us certainly meant something. But, my question is whether or not you consider us an ‘item’ of some sorts.”

“Oh! Yes, that certainly is a good question, now that you bring it up. But, I guess that would have to depend on whether or not you’d be more accustomed to such a commitment?” Ishimaru had a worried look on his face, unsure of how his crush would respond.

“Ah. In that case, perhaps it’d be for the better that we don’t overstep our boundaries and stay friends. After all, my loyalty is mainly elsewhere.” Mukuro glanced out of the kitchen, spotting Junko waving at her once before the model went back to her own business to pass time during the private flight.

“...I see. You certainly have a point there, Muki. It would be unthinkable to distract ourselves with something as silly as a romantic relationship, right?” Ishimaru chuckled, trying to hide his conflicted feelings. “To think I’d even consider such a thing with you, after all!”

“Oh. So you’re saying you’d rather do anything else but date someone like me?” Mukuro gave him a cross expression, which the Hall Monitor quickly shook his hands and head to correct himself.

“No no no! That’s not what I meant at all!”

“Well, even so, it’s a wonder on why you’d even consider such a thing with someone who’s fat, ugly, and stupid, right?” Mukuro counted them off on her fingers, her expression blank despite Ishimaru’s surprise. “It’s all there in the manual, Taka.”

“You are none of those things!” Ishimaru grabbed Mukuro’s fingers on instinct, which stunned her for a moment until he let go and silently apologized before continuing to speak. “Everything I said to you on the Arc of Triumph was one-hundred percent true! I’m not sure who’s telling you otherwise, but inside and out, you have a natural beauty to you in addition to so many other wonderful traits of yours! Never once would I ever think otherwise of you, Mukuro!”

Mukuro was looking right into Ishimaru’s eyes, her own periwinkle ones blinking in surprise as a light pink color dusted her freckles. Shaking her head, she quickly pushed herself away from Ishimaru and turned her back on him to leave him behind. The male himself had a disheartened look on his face, the only word Mukuro had to say to him being a vague “...Sure.” before leaving him behind in favor of sitting by her younger sister.

“Dude, we saw the whole thing,” Mondo said to him sympathetically as Ishimaru sat next to him and Chihiro again. “That’s really gotta bite, Kyoudai.”

“We’re sorry Ikusaba-san broke up with you, Ishimaru-kun,” Chihiro added, frowning and putting a consoling hand on Ishimaru’s shoulder.

“Don’t be sorry, Chihiro-kun. We were technically never dating,” Ishimaru insisted, straightening himself up. “Besides! Romantic relationships are nothing more than an academic distraction, and I refuse to let anything like that enter my life whatsoever!”

“Taka, they’d only be a distraction if you’d let ‘em be,” Mondo told him, rolling his eyes half-heartedly. “I’m sure plenty ‘a people are in some and don’t have them change their fuckin’ lives altogether.”

“Well, that’s them and this is me! I’d prefer to stick to a relationship with my work and keep any others solely platonic for the better of my future!” Ishimaru folded his arms while sticking his nose in the air, stubbornly planting himself further into his seat. “I will hear no other discussion of this, and that’s final! Let’s now focus only on getting back to Japan safely and soundly!”

“Geez, there’s never gettin’ through to ya once yer like this, is there?” Mondo scoffed, resting his cheek on his fist while his other arm went around Chihiro’s waist. “Fine, if yer gonna be a baby about it, we’ll drop it.”

“You’re not too upset about Ikusaba-san, are you?” Chihiro asked.

“Of course not! So long as she wants to remain close acquaintances at the least, there isn’t anything to worry about!” Ishimaru answered genuinely, giving Chihiro a smile until his tone fell slightly with his expression. “...Assuming she’d still want to be friends, of course.”

“I’m sure she still wants to! I didn’t hear anything about her not wanting to, after all! Plus, she really seems to like you in both ways, Ishimaru-kun. Maybe she’s just not ready for anything too extreme, yet?” Chihiro noticed the disheartened look on Ishimaru’s face, the smaller boy deciding to keep pressing on a little more to help his friend. “If you really don’t know, then asking her might help when you’re ready. But I guarantee she still wants to be around you, even if you guys aren’t dating!”

“You promise, Chihiro-kun?”

“W-Well, I can’t really _promise_ something like that, but I’ve got a really good feeling! You’ll never know unless you try, Ishimaru-kun!”

Ishimaru saw the hopeful smile on Chihiro’s face, giving a sigh and tussling his friend’s hair briefly. “I trust you. But, that’s not something to focus on at the moment! That bridge will have to be crossed much later!”

Chihiro simply nodded and went back to a normal conversation with Mondo and Ishimaru to change the subject. Unbeknownst to the three boys, Mukuro was glancing back with a somewhat sullen expression. Shaking her head and trying to bat away the flushed feeling in her cheeks in favor of listening to Junko ramble on about things she personally lacked an interest for, but felt the need to do so out of familial love.

* * *

Before anybody knew it, the long flight had ended after several hours. When the plane at long last landed on the grounds of Osaka, Japan, the drowsy 78th Class and a certain All-Star’s new dog all perked up and looked with pleased eyes as the plane rolled along the floor of the private jet hangar belonging to the Togami Conglomerate. Those who completely fell asleep before yawned and stretched their joints before finally leaving the jet to collect their luggage.

“Single file, everyone!” Ishimaru called out, blowing his whistle to deaf ears as they all huddled around the open luggage compartment to find their belongings. “Nobody go all at once! We don’t want any accidents around here!”

Nobody listened to a word Ishimaru was saying, prompting him to give up and gather his own luggage from the jet. One by one did members of the 78th Class start to take their bags with them out of the plane hangar, Ishimaru picking up his suitcase before he turned to see Mukuro suddenly behind him next to her camouflage-print trunk once there was more than enough space cleared between them once the rest of their classmates had already left to head back to Hope’s Peak Academy.

“GUH!” Ishimaru gasped, taking a few steps back to compose himself. “Mukuro, you scared me! What-- seems to be the problem?”

“...The plane,” Mukuro answered. “Or rather, our little talk we had then.”

“What about it? You already said we shouldn’t get too close to each other for personal reasons, didn’t you?”

Mukuro nodded, giving a slight pause in the middle of her words. “That I did, and that I meant. But, I also wanted to let you know that our time in Paris meant a lot to me. I truly had a nice time with you, Kiyotaka.”

“You did?! I mean--” Ishimaru gulped, laughing it off somewhat. “I’m truly glad! I had a wonderful time spending part of my Spring Break with you as well, Mukuro.” Now the Prefect was smiling to the side from remembering it all, even as the deep pink color came back to his face.

“Of course. And to prove it, there’s something I’d like to give you before we start the new year tomorrow,” Mukuro said, smiling gently. “But you’ll have to come a bit closer again.”

“Okay. What is it?”

Still smiling warmly, Mukuro leaned forward and pressed her lips against Ishimaru’s for a few short seconds, the male having lost his train of thought completely while unconsciously kissing back briefly until the kiss was finally broken. Mukuro wiped a small bit of saliva from her lips, giggling somewhat when she saw the lobster red color on the stupor-trapped Ishimaru’s face. She picked up her bags and hefted them under her arm to carry, turning only her back as she gave Ishimaru one last look.

“We’ll always have Paris,” Mukuro told him, walking off seconds before Ishimaru regained his proper state of mind again.

“Yes, we will,” Ishimaru agreed, smiling dreamily before taking his own luggage out and following his departing classmates.

What managed to bring Ishimaru’s attention away from his crush seemed to be Ruby’s barking once she was let out of her cage and walking beside Leon while on a leash, her owner and Hagakure cackling during a conversation. Taking out a small pad of paper from his pocket, Ishimaru wrote upon two slips before ripping them out and stuffing them into the two other male’s pockets, much to their displeasure once they took a short look at what they had to say.

“And failing to keep Ruby-kun in line will result in your punishment being longer, Kuwata-kun!” Ishimaru warned sternly.

“Oh, come on! You’re gonna blame me for whatever my _dog_ might do?!” Leon groaned, sticking his tongue out at Ishimaru.

“Well, Kuwata-chi, if Ruby-chi acts up, that’ll really say a lot about you as a pet owner,” Hagakure laughed, earning an angry look from Leon.

“Ah, quiet, Hiro. Shouldn’t be talkin’ much when you’re in detention with me, hmm?”

Hagakure gave a displeased sigh, letting Ishimaru walk ahead while he just kept looking in the same direction in favor of returning to the school for some much needed settling down in his own bed like the others’ so desired. Regardless, the week everyone had shared in the esteemed City Of Lights was not one any of them would forget for as long as they lived.

Through the highs and lows of their vacation that was now only a memory, it was definitely the Spring Break of a lifetime for the 78th Class of Hope’s Peak Academy.


End file.
